The Definition of Normal
by Ducky1776
Summary: Harry is adopted by a black shaggy dog when he leaves Privet Drive after blowing up Aunt Marge. His experiences at the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley afterwards takes his life in a whole different direction. He gets help from unexpected directions - the goblins and the DMLE. AU Third Book. No Pairings. Unofficial subtitle: Where everyone gets what they deserve.
1. Little Whinging

1\. Little Whinging

It was a normal day in Little Whinging, Surrey. The sun was out, children were playing at the playground and traffic was at its usual leisurely pace. It was your typical English village: a small town center area with a chemist, grocer, meat cutter, pub and a few other small businesses which saved the residents from having to travel to London for their daily essentials. Several neighborhoods circled the center, including one called Hedge Hollow.

Hedge Hollow spouted pastoral streets such as Magnolia Road, Wisteria Walk, Holly Circle and Privet Drive. It was the most affluent of the neighborhoods in Little Whinging and the residents did everything they could to ensure everyone else knew it. Privet Drive was the showcase of the neighborhood. What made this street the epitome of normal were the houses. There were essentially four basic house designs: two had two stories and two had one. Apparently the architect must have taken a cookie cutter and cut out outlines of the four house types, laid them out on a sheet of paper and then built them in that order.

Each house had a front and back garden as well as a garage for two automobiles. If one was pretentious enough to have more than one auto, it was parked in the driveway. Only visitors parked on the street, which enabled everyone an unobstructed view of who the visitor was and whether or not they "fit" with the airs of the street. It also fueled the gossip subjects for the Privet Drive Book Club. The book club was just a cover for the ladies of the neighborhood to gather together for tea (or something stronger) and discuss the business of those not present in the club.

Number four Privet Drive looked like a normal house on a normal street was anything but normal. The Dursleys, Vernon, Petunia and their son Dudley were no different from their neighbors. It was the fourth occupant of their house that set them apart. The Dursley's nephew, Harry Potter, was as abnormal as they came. You see, Harry Potter was a wizard.

Harry Potter was looking forward to his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which would be starting in four more weeks. Harry had been back at Privet Drive for three weeks, three painful weeks, so the sooner he returned to Hogwarts the happier he would be. Since he had returned from school, Harry had spent his days manicuring the gardens, cooking the family's meals (of which he seldom got to partake) and cleaning the house. In return, Harry was allowed to have the smallest bedroom in the house. This was an improvement over his first ten years in the house, when his bedroom had been the cupboard under the stairs.

Today found Harry in the back garden, weeding the flower beds and mowing the lawn. Some people would think that these would be some of the worst chores Harry had to do, but Harry thought differently. He was out of the house and in the sunshine. Since nobody could see over the tall privacy fence, he didn't have to worry about being stared at by the neighbors. The neighbors feared Harry, because it was rumored that he attended St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. What they didn't realize was that it was his cousin Dudley who terrorized the other children in the neighborhood. If Harry didn't fear attracting the attention of his aunt, he would be whistling. Whistling would make his aunt think he enjoyed what he was doing - and far be it from the Dursleys to have him do something he enjoyed.

He heard the back door open and his aunt stuck her head out. "Boy! Get in here now! Your uncle will be home in an hour and you know he likes to have his dinner waiting when he gets here. And don't track dirt in this house! Leave your shoes on the back steps."

Harry quickly put his tools away, dusted the dirt and grass from his clothes and headed inside. He went to the loo to wash his hands. While in there, he surreptitiously took two handfuls of water to quench his thirst. He had been caught drinking from the hose once, and it had not ended well for him.

He was just setting dinner on the table when his uncle arrived home. The family gathered at the dinner table; Harry was sent to his room until the others finished. If there was anything left (and there probably wouldn't be) he would be allowed to have it. Just as he turned to head up the stairs, he heard the announcer on the evening news warn everyone to be on the lookout for an escaped mass murderer named Sirius Black.

"Too bad they eliminated the death penalty," said Uncle Vernon. "People like him should get the same punishment as the people he killed. Where did they say he escaped from?"

"I don't know, Vernon, I don't think they said," Aunt Petunia replied.

"Boy! What are you doing standing there? I told you to go to your room! You'll do as I say unless you don't want anything to eat tonight."

Harry trudged up the stairs to his room and closed the door. When called to clean up, an hour later, he found a decent serving of salad and one piece of garlic toast left for him to eat. Far be it for the Dursleys to eat something healthy. Harry quickly washed up the dishes and returned to his room. While he waited for the house to settle down into sleep, Harry thought about his previous two years at Hogwarts. One thing he had learned during those two years was that his life was anything but normal.

Harry watched as the clock ticked up to midnight. It was now July 31, his birthday. He was officially a teenager. As he wondered what his parents would think of him at 13 years old, he noticed several things flying towards him. As they got nearer, he could tell one of them was his own snowy owl Hedwig. She'd taken off earlier that day to parts unknown. The next owl appeared to be having trouble staying in the air, much less flying straight. He quickly recognized the Weasley's family owl Errol. He didn't know how old Errol was (or how long owls lived for that matter), but Errol had seen better days. He barely made it across the window sill before he collapsed. Harry relieved him of his package and took him over to Hedwig's perch, gave him an owl treat and let him drink his fill of water. Hedwig was next entering. He relieved her of her package and she flew to her perch, looking disdainfully at Errol. The third owl turned out to be from Hogwarts. After relieving it of its letter and package the owl turned and flew off, not bothering to wait for a treat or a drink of water.

Harry opened the Weasley's present first. A piece of newspaper fell out. Ron's father had won a drawing held by the Daily Prophet (the British wizarding paper). According to Ron's letter, they were using the money to go to Egypt and visit his oldest brother, Bill, who was a curse breaker for Gringotts Bank (the wizarding bank). Harry knew they deserved the extra gold. They would be back just before school started and hoped Harry could meet up with them in Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies. When he opened the present he found a pocket sneakoscope. It would let him know if someone who was not trustworthy was near.

Opening the next present, he was delighted to discover it was from Hermione. Hedwig always seems to know when Hermione needed to send him something and was always there when she was ready to send it. Knowing Hermione, it was some sort of book. He was surprised to find it was actually a broom servicing kit. She hoped that the Muggles were treating him well, and said that she was planning to meet up with Ron and his family just before school started to get her supplies. Harry couldn't wait to make use of the present once he had his broomstick back. It was locked in the cupboard under the stairs with his school trunk and wand.

The last package was heavy. He got half of the wrapping off before something jumped out of his hand and began eating the wrapping paper. Once the thing had digested the paper, it looked for something else to consume. Harry jumped on the bed and waited until it came back out, then jumped down on top of it. Once he had it captured, he realized it was a book. Only one person at Hogwarts would send him a book that would eat you, and that was Hagrid. He grabbed a belt and tied it around the book to avoid another chase-or-be-chased event. The only thing Hagrid told him was that it was something he thought Harry might find handy.

The last letter was his usual before-term book list from Professor McGonagall. This year there was an additional piece of parchment. A permission form. Students third year and up could visit the nearby town of Hogsmeade on designated weekends. The catch was that it required a parent or guardian's permission. Fat chance getting Aunt Petunia, much less Uncle Vernon, to sign it. Hopefully he could find a way.

Having opened his presents and put them away, Harry took off his glasses and went to sleep. He fervently wished, as he did every year at this time, that this birthday would be his best and he would be able to leave Privet Drive for the last time.


	2. Aunt Marge

2\. Aunt Marge

Another week had passed and Harry had managed to avoid losing all of his meal privileges for the week. Uncle Vernon had found several made up reasons to deny him dinner two nights of the week. With the Weasleys out of the country, he didn't get his usual birthday cake from Mrs. Weasley. He usually got food packages from his friends if he let them know he needed them, but with Hedwig's flying restricted, he hadn't been able to tell them this year. Even so, he had to admit this summer had been better than last year.

On Saturday things took a turn for the worst.

"Boy! Get down here now!"

Harry hurried downstairs without actually running. Uncle Vernon's face was just a light red, so he wasn't in trouble yet. Uncle Vernon's face had a rainbow of color from a light red to a violent purple. If it went into the purple hue, look out! Someone was going to get it, and it was always Harry.

"Yes Uncle Vernon?"

"Go out there and wash the car. Make sure you vacuum it completely. I'm picking up Marge at the train station tomorrow and I want that car sparkling! When you're done, clean the guest bedroom."

Harry stuttered. "Au- Aunt Marge is coming?"

"That's what I just said, freak! She will be here for a week, and I want you to be on your best behavior! None of that freaky hocus pocus stuff of yours! You will regret it if anything happens!"

"Yes Uncle Vernon."

Harry trudged to the garage and got the pail and cloths. First he got the vacuum to clean out the inside. He wondered if his uncle ate in the car or just put trash in there for him to clean out. Harry had enough sense to know to vacuum the car before washing it. Dragging an electric cable across a wet driveway was a sure way to get electrocuted. He was sure that's what his Uncle was hoping. While washing the car, Harry had a thought. Maybe he could get his Uncle to sign his Hogsmeade permission form in return for being nice to Aunt Marge. (Harry actually thought of her as Large Marge which is what he called her when out of earshot of anyone named Dursley.) After he had completed his work, he went in to talk to Uncle Vernon.

"Uncle Vernon?"

"What do you want, boy?"

"Well, with Aunt Marge here, I know you want me to be on my best behavior."

"If you aren't you won't see the light of day until you go back to that freaky school of yours!"

"Well, if I promise to be quiet and do everything you ask me to do, would you sign my permission form so that I can go on field trips at school?" Harry knew not to tell him it was for fun.

"And why would I want to do that"

"Well, you don't want Aunt Marge to know about THAT. And if I am polite and behave myself …"

"You'll behave yourself regardless!"

"But even if Aunt Marge tries to goad me, if I'm polite, then there's no reason she should know about THAT."

"We will discuss this AFTER she has gone."

Of course, on Sunday it was raining so his car-washing efforts were for naught. As Uncle Vernon left to pick up Aunt Marge (and why did he have to call her Aunt; she wasn't HIS aunt), Harry was told to go to his room and stay there until they got back."

Harry wished it would take all day to pick up Aunt Marge, but in reality it only took an hour. He heard the car go into the garage and the doors open. The next thing he heard was a dog barking.

"Oh No!" thought Harry, "Large Marge brought Ripper with her." Ripper was the prize stud in Aunt Marge's bulldog breeding business. He went everywhere with her.

Harry heard the door open and then Aunt Marge shouted, "Where's the boy? Tell him to come here and take my bag to my room. Then he can take Ripper for a walk. Make sure he doesn't go on the neighbors' yards too."

"Boy! Get down here now!"

Harry was at the top of the stairs when Uncle Vernon yelled. "Yes Uncle Vernon?"

"Take Marge's bag to her room then get back down here!"

"Yes Uncle Vernon."

While Harry was coming down the stairs he heard Aunt Marge cooing all over Dudley.

"Oh Dudley! How big and handsome you've gotten! Don't you have a little kiss for your Aunt?"

Just as Harry got to the bottom of the stairs he saw Dudley kissing Aunt Marge and trying to hide his disgust.

"I heard you did so well at Smeltings this year! Here, let me give you a reward for your efforts." Then he saw Marge hand Dudley a pound note. She never gave Dudley anything less than a twenty pound note. Dudley flashed the note at Harry and then went up to his room to play on his computer. Harry reached for his aunt's bag but before he could pick it up, Marge grabbed his hand.

"Don't you drag my bag like you did the last time! You left a mark on my expensive Halston bag. When you're done, take Ripper for a walk. He doesn't like to go out in the rain, so make sure you hold the umbrella over him!"

Harry picked up the bag and took it upstairs, sorely tempted to have it bump up each step. He sat the bag on the luggage rack, then headed back downstairs. Marge handed him Ripper's leash while Aunt Petunia handed him an umbrella. It was only large enough to fit over Ripper. It didn't matter. Harry wore Dudley's hand-me-downs, which had grass stains and dirt on them that wouldn't come out in the wash regardless of how much bleach he put in it.

Harry headed out the door, tugging on Ripper's leash. Ripper bit him on the ankle. He swore silently to himself and pulled the dog along the walk. After the dog had done its business, they walked back to the house. By that time, Aunt Petunia had set out tea.

"You! Don't track that mud in this house! Go put on some dry clothes, then come clean up the mess you made!"

Harry quickly went upstairs and changed into an equally stained set of clothes and returned to the entryway to clean up the mud. Ripper growled at him menacingly from the living room.

Luckily Sunday was the only day that it rained. Harry spent as much time outside as he could. He let it slip that he thought the outside shed could use new paint, and the next thing he knew, he was painting the shed. That took a full day. Then the flower beds needed weeding and the grass mowing. Everything had been relatively quiet. He actually got to eat three meals each day, as Aunt Marge wanted to keep him where she could see him. Now to get through Saturday, and hopefully he would get his permission form signed!

Aunt Petunia had cooked dinner, as Aunt Marge didn't trust Harry not to poison the food. Harry made the best of the meal, as he didn't know how long it would be until he would be fed again. Everything had been going relatively well until after Aunt Marge's second glass of wine. Then it got ugly.

"So tell me again, Petunia, how you ended up burdened by this boy."

"His mother and father were killed in a car accident. Evidently he wasn't in a car seat and was thrown clear of the car."

"Serves them right, if they didn't care enough to buckle their child into a safety seat! I suppose they were drinking."

"Yes, both of them had had more than the legal limit. Ran head on into a lorry."

"What did they do?"

"My sister was still in university at the time. I'm not aware of what her husband did, if anything."

"A drunk and a wastrel at that. We would have probably had to support them on the dole. Better to have done with them!"

Harry had tried to keep his calm, but he finally had enough of Aunt Marge.

"How can you say they deserved to die? And they weren't killed in a car wreck!"

"Hush boy!" Uncle Vernon threatened.

"No! I'm tired of you telling stories about my parents! They were killed by a murderer. He tried to kill me, too! My parents were good people!"

"The boy's delirious Petunia! Where did you say he goes to school?"

"St. Brutus' School for Incurably Criminal Boys."

"Apparently he is still incurable. Evidently they haven't beaten him enough. Vernon, you should know how to keep a firm hand on the boy. Especially one who lies like this one. Too bad he didn't die along with his parents, and left you to care for him."

At this point Harry had had enough. He was about to explode. The dishes had started a quiet rattle. With all the hot air in the house between Aunt Marge and Uncle Vernon, it was a miracle everyone wasn't sweating. The next thing he knew, Aunt Marge was starting to blow up like a balloon.

As she started screaming, Vernon turned a dark shade of purple and started yelling "Freak! Stop that! You put her straight right now!"

"No! She did this to herself. I don't care if she floats all the way to the North Pole! I've had enough!"

Harry left the dining room, heading towards the stairs. As soon as he looked at the door to the cupboard under the stairs, the door flew open and his trunk and broom flew out. Harry ran upstairs, pulled everything he had up there into a pillowcase, and grabbed Hedwig's cage. Harry knew she would find him wherever he went. He went back downstairs, stuffed the pillowcase and broom in his trunk and prepared to leave.

"Boy! You fix her right this minute!"

"No! She deserves what she gets. Would you like to join her?" Harry had removed his wand and held it threateningly towards Vernon.

"Put that thing away! You know they'll expel you if you do THAT."

"Let them! I'm leaving and I never plan to return! If anyone asks where I went tell them you don't know!"

With that, Harry grabbed his trunk and cage and headed outside. He slammed the door behind him just to add further insult.

Harry walked several blocks before he calmed down. He found himself at the playground a few blocks away. He sat down on one of the swings (one that Dudley hadn't broken yet) and started shaking. What were they going to do to him now? Would he be expelled from Hogwarts? Maybe he could go live with the Weasleys. He had gold. He could pay for his room and board. Or maybe Hermione's parents would help him get back into the muggle school system. With all these thoughts running through his head, he didn't notice the large shaggy dog that had come out of the bushes and started nuzzling his hand.

"Oh! Hi boy! You are a boy aren't you? What are you doing out here? You should be home eating a nice fat bone."

The dog nuzzled his hand again and Harry started petting him.

"You don't have a home, huh? I know how you feel. I don't have one either. My parents died and I got left with my aunt and uncle." For some reason, the dog started growling.

"Yeah, I know. They don't like me and they definitely don't like magic. I don't know where to go now. Maybe I can get a room at the Leaky Cauldron. I can go to Gringotts tomorrow and get enough gold to pay Tom." With that, the dog started dancing around and nodding his head.

"You think that's what I should do?" The dog gave a quick bark.

"OK, but how do I get there? I don't have any money for a taxi, or to ride the underground. It's too far for me to walk. Nobody around here has a floo." The dog started grabbing his wand hand and pulling him back towards the street.

"Settle down, boy! I'm coming." Harry walked by to the sidewalk with his trunk and owl cage. He put them back down and looked at the dog. "You seem to know how I'm going to get there. So, what do I do now?"

The dog grabbed his shirt just above his wand hand and pulled hard. Harry threw out his arm to catch himself. The next thing he knew, there was a loud bang and a purple double decker bus pulled up in front of him.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency travel for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand arm and we'll be there. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for this evening."

Harry closed his gaping mouth, then said "Erm, how much does it cost to go to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Eleven sickles. Fifteen if you want hot chocolate, a hot water bottle and a toothbrush."

"Umm, I think just the standard fare will be fine." Harry looked into his coin purse and pulled out eleven sickles.

"What's your name?" Stan asked. " I haven't seen you on my route before, and I know most all of the witches and wizards around here."

Harry had to think for a few seconds before he came up with something. He knew if he gave his real name, he'd never get a minute's peace. He recalled one of Dudley's favorite movies where the hero was undercover. "My name is Clark Kent."

"Don't know of any Kents in Britain. You sure your name is Kent?"

"Yup. Say, can I bring my dog with me?"

"Sure, it'll be an extra two sickles if you want him to have a bowl of water. And make sure he stays away from Madam Marsh's cat. That cat will have both of you for dinner!"

Harry climbed on board while Stan put his luggage and cage in the rack.

Stan turned to the driver and said, "Take it away, Ernie!"

"Where's your owl? You got a cage but no owl."

"I sent her ahead. She doesn't like to travel by land much."

"Not many owls do. Must be a pretty smart owl to be able to find you."

"She is."

"Good thing you're going to the Leaky Cauldron. It's not safe to be out on the streets alone right now."

"Why?"

"Sirius Black! He's a mass murderer and he's escaped from Azkaban!"

"Wait! He's a wizard? I heard about him on the muggle telly."

"Of course he's a wizard! And a bad one at that. They say he was You-Know-Who's right hand man. Turned over the Potters to him just as easy as you please, too. Led him right to them. And he was suppose to be their best friend."

At that, the dog started growling. Harry put a hand on him and said, "Easy boy. Nothing for you to be worried about."

Stan continued, "Ain't nobody ever escaped from Azkaban before. He must have someone on the inside that he bribed. All of those Blacks were followers of You-Know-Who. Bad lot all of them."

Again the dog started growling.

"Down boy! I'm sorry Stan, I don't know what's gotten into him. We'll just go to the back and wait until we get to the Leaky Cauldron."

After he sat down, Harry looked at the dog. "Well, I can't keep calling you 'dog' or 'boy'. I wouldn't call anyone or anything 'boy', ever. That's just as bad as being called 'freak'." At that the dog whined and began to lick Harry's hand.

"So, what will it be? I don't know too many dog names. Uncle Vernon's sister has a dog named Ripper, and that's exactly what he does, rips up everything he can find and then I get blamed for it. What about Blackie?"

With that the dog snorted and appeared to shake his head 'no'.

"You don't like that. What about Midnight?"

This time the dog appeared to laugh.

"Don't like that either, huh? OK, so you tell me what your name should be."

With that the dog started nuzzling his hand again and making a wuffling noise. "OK, Sniffles sounds like you've got a cold. Wuffles sounds like something to eat. What about Snuffles?"

With that, the dog gave a quick yip and danced around in a circle. Harry laughed at the antics. "OK, Snuffles! The next question is whether the Leaky Cauldron allows pets. They must, with all of the traffic through there. We'll just have to be extra careful. You can't pee on everything, and you have to let me know when you need to go for a walk."

Snuffles nodded his head and licked Harry's hand. Harry lost count of the stops. Madam Marsh and her cat were one of the first to depart the bus, so Snuffles was able to roam around checking out the other passengers. Finally they reached the Leaky Cauldron. Harry and Snuffles got off, and Stan handed him his bags. Just as he was turning around he heard someone behind him.

"Harry, my boy! So good to see you're safe. I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." With that introduction, Snuffles growled.

Stan piped up, "This is Clark Kent, Minister."

"I don't know where you got that idea, Stan, this is Harry Potter."

"Hey Ern, we had Harry Potter on our bus tonight! Well, Clark or Harry or whoever you are, have a good evening." With that, the Knight Bus roared out into traffic.

"Harry, you've had everyone worried. We've taken care of your little problem. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad got to your house shortly after you left. Marjorie Dursley has been deflated, and her memory modified. She won't even remember it happening. Of course we had to modify your relatives' memories as well. They think that you're with one of your friends for the rest of the summer."

"Thank you Minister. Why are you meeting me?"

"There's a mass murderer loose, we can't have you running around with him on the loose. You're safe and that's all that matters. I've asked Tom to prepare you a room here for the rest of the time until you leave for Hogwarts."

"Thank you Minister. I appreciate you helping me. What punishment will I have for blowing up Aunt Marge?"

"Oh, no punishment, none at all. We're just relieved you're well. As long as you stay within Diagon Alley and don't venture into muggle London without an adult everything will be fine. We have Aurors assigned to Diagon Alley, just in case Black shows up. Here let's get you inside." Fudge didn't need to add that the Aurors would be keeping tabs on Harry as well.

They went inside, and Tom showed Harry to a room. He opened the door to see a snowy owl sitting on an owl perch. "Hedwig! You found me!"

"That's a right smart owl you have there Mr. Potter. Arrived just before you did. Breakfast is included in your room payment. Would you like tea tonight?"

"Yes, thank you. Is it OK for my dog to be here?"

"Of course! I'll bring up a bowl for water for him. I believe I have a large hambone from tonight's dinner that he may like."

"Thank you!"

Tom was back about ten minutes later with tea and biscuits for Harry, and a bowl of water and the hambone he'd spoken of earlier. After he and Snuffles ate their fill, Harry put on his pajamas and got into bed. It was almost as comfortable as his four poster bed in Gryffindor Tower. It was the best night's sleep since he'd left Hogwarts.

Once he was sure Harry was asleep, Snuffles trotted into the bathroom and transformed back into his human form. Sirius Black was a dog animagus. He and his best friend James Potter and the traitorous rat Peter Pettigrew had become animagi to keep their other friend, Remus Lupin, a werewolf, company during his monthly change. Sirius was quiet, but was able to wash his face and hands. He was hoping to be able to take a real shower soon. Now, how would he be able to tell Harry who he was without panicking the young man?


	3. Gringotts

3\. Gringotts

Harry woke the next morning and stretched. He hadn't been able to sleep past six o'clock all summer, due to the Dursleys wanting their breakfast. It was better to work out in the gardens when it was early as well. After quickly dressing, he took Snuffles out to take care of his morning necessities, then came back in to eat breakfast. He had no idea what businesses in Diagon Alley would be open on a Sunday.

"Excuse me, Tom, but is Gringotts open on Sunday?"

"Gringotts never closes. If you need to go there at 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning, they're open for you."

"Great! I'll head there shortly. I need to make sure I have enough money to pay you for your excellent service."

"Goblins don't like animals so you want to leave your dog here. They barely tolerate owls."

Harry took Snuffles upstairs and left him with the admonishment to "Behave yourself."

Out back of the inn, he tapped the bricks in the same pattern he had seen Hagrid do the first day he visited Diagon Alley, and the bricks parted to let him pass. It was early so there were few people on the street. Harry kept his head down and quickly made his way to Gringotts. After passing by the guard goblins he went to the first open teller.

"Hello, sir. My name is Harry Potter. I'd like to go to my vault. Is there any way you can tell me how much money I have in my vault?"

"One moment Mr. Potter. I will have your account manager assist you."

"I have an account manager?"

"Of course. All of our major accounts have personal account managers." The goblin left for about five minutes. Another goblin, apparently a younger one, walked toward him, "Mr. Potter if you will follow me."

Harry followed the goblin through a warren of halls and offices until he knocked on a nondescript door.

"Enter," said the occupant.

Harry was ushered in and realized that he'd seen this goblin before. "Griphook?"

"I'm surprised you recognize me, Mr. Potter. Most humans have difficulty telling goblins apart. That you are able to do so is impressive."

"So, are you my account manager?"

"Yes. I assumed the Potter accounts ten years ago, when the previous manager passed away. I attempted to talk to you on your first trip to Gringotts two years ago, but was unable to do so because of your escort. He is not known for his ability to keep secrets. I had hoped to speak with you last year, when you came to get your school supplies, but again you were escorted by another person."

"Yeah, Mrs. Weasley."

"We have many things to discuss Mr. Potter. The most important one is the reading of your parents' will."

"My parents left a will?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. And from what I know of that will, the terms of it are being ignored."

"How is that?"

"I am not able to say for certain until the entire will is read in a formal reading."

"What do I need to do?"

"If you request the will to be publicly read, Gringotts will contact all parties involved in its content. It requires 48 hours notification of all beneficiaries and anyone else mentioned in the will. Once it is read, Gringotts will ensure all bequests included in the will are disbursed."

"Please start the process to have this done."

"Very good, Mr. Potter. I will set the reading for this Tuesday at one in the afternoon. Will you need transportation to attend?"

"No. I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron until I go back to Hogwarts."

"Now that we have settled that issue, the others can wait until we have confirmed the contents of the will. We will have many things to discuss at its completion. How else may I be of assistance?"

"Can you tell me how much money I have left in my vault?"

"I believe you are asking is the amount of gold in your trust vault, as that is the original key you presented to Gringotts two years ago. Is that correct?"

"Trust vault? That's the only vault I know of."

"When a child is born, most old families establish a trust vault to see to their school needs. It contains sufficient gold to pay for any incidentals they need until they come of age. In your case, your parents opened your trust vault a month after your birth. It contains 20,000 galleons and is to be topped off each year until you reach your majority. Mr. Potter, you are a very rich wizard. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter is one of our oldest families. Your trust vault is only a portion of that wealth. In addition, you are also the heir to several other families who had no other heirs and left you bequests"

"They did? Why would anybody do that?"

"For ridding the world of You-Know-Who. Surely you have gotten the many letters sent to you, especially immediately after his demise?"

"No. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid got me and brought me here that first day."

"I will add that to the long list of items we need to discuss, then."

"OK. May I go to my vault? I need to have enough money to pay Tom for my stay at the Leaky Cauldron and get my school supplies."

"Certainly. I will have my assistant Marspok take you immediately. However, Tom has Gringotts vouchers that you may sign to satisfy your bill. All merchants in Diagon Alley have them. All you need to do is sign your name, put your key number and press your thumb on the space provided, and the amount will automatically transfer to their vault."

"Wicked! Thank you Griphook! I will see you Tuesday then."

"If you could be here by noon, so that we may take care of any preliminaries that are required…."

"Of course."

Marspok then took Harry to his vault, where he filled his coin bag. Once that was done, he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to check on Snuffles. He thought it was a good time to complete his summer homework – the first time he'd actually been able to do so - and there was a nice table in the sun at Florean Fortescue's Ice cream shop to do it at.

"Hi Snuffles! Have you been a good boy?" Snuffles gave a glare as if to say, "Of course I have!"

"OK, boy! Let me get my books and we can go back into Diagon Alley. I know just the spot to work on my homework. We can also go to the Magical Menagerie and see if they have dog treats. You probably should be on a leash, too. I wonder if wizards have leash laws."

Snuffles yipped at the idea of treats, but growled at the idea of a leash and collar.

As they headed back into Diagon Alley, Snuffles started getting excited. He danced around Harry acting like this was a dream come true.

"Silly dog! Come on. Let's get you some treats, but remember, you must mind your manners here and be a good dog." Snuffles yipped at him again.

When they entered the Magical Menagerie, they could hear various other animals calling out to each other. The shopkeeper greeted Harry, "That's a nice dog you have there. How long have you had him?"

"Actually, I just got him. Or rather he found me and adopted me," Harry laughed.

"Smart one, then. The Potters always were soft for their pets."

Harry looked at him in question. "How did you know who I am?"

"Besides that scar on your head? You are definitely James' son. Even have that funny hair like he did. Never did want to stay down, no matter what he did to it."

"You knew my father?"

"Yes. As well as his parents and his friends. Marrying Lily Evans was the best thing that happened to him."

Harry beamed at him. He always liked to hear stories about his parents.

"Now, what may I help you with today?"

"I need some supplies for Snuffles. I've never had a dog before, but I know most of the things I need to do from helping out when my aunt came to visit. At least this dog doesn't try to bite me every time I look at him. I probably need to give him a bath if he's going to stay with me."

With this, Snuffles ducked behind the counter to hide from any talk of a bath.

"I don't think he wants a bath, do you?"

The shopkeeper laughed and agreed with him, "No, I don't think he does. Here, let me just use a quick cleansing charm on him. That should take away any bad things. I can also cast spells to remove any fleas or other things that may have gotten on him." Snuffles looked at him, nodded his head rapidly and began circling around the shopkeeper.

"I think he likes that idea. I do recommend a nice brush to brush out any matted hair he may have."

"What about a leash and collar? I know the muggles require them as well as shots for dog diseases like rabies."

"This dog looks like he's well trained. Unless you plan to take him to some fancy places, I don't think you will need a leash and collar." Snuffles liked that idea and danced around in a circle.

"So, just a brush, a few spells. and some treats then."

"Very good. Now, what did you call him?"

"Snuffles."

"Well Snuffles, just hold still for a few moments and we'll take care of all of those pesky fleas and clean you up a bit."

Snuffles sat very still as the shopkeeper waved his wand over him. Once he was done, Snuffles jumped up on his hind legs and gave the shopkeeper a big, slobbery kiss. "I think he liked that."

"Thanks sir. I'll just get the other things then and we'll be on our way."

Harry put his packages in his knapsack with his school books and headed over to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Taking a seat at an outside table, he pulled out his Potions homework. Mr. Fortescue came by and took his order, and also brought a bowl of water for Snuffles. Harry looked at Snuffles, "I really wish I didn't have to do this. Snape never grades my essays fairly anyway. I could just turn anything in and get the same grade."

When Harry said the name Snape, Snuffles began to growl.

"You don't like him either, huh? Yeah, he's a greasy git. He probably never washes his hair. Doesn't like Gryffindors at all. He hates me especially. I still don't know what I did to him."

 _Snape?_ Snuffles thought. That had to be Severus Snape his childhood enemy. _Maybe I'll get a chance to bite him on the bum for Harry. That would be fun to do! Old Snivellus literally won't know what bit him._

Harry spent the afternoon at Fortescue's doing his homework. Mr. Fortescue would come by periodically and give him another ice cream and Snuffles some fresh water. He also offered to help him out with his History of Magic essay the next day. Harry had been able to complete his Potions homework and get most of his Charms homework done before they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. After dinner they went back up to his room, where Harry got out the brush. Snuffles saw the brush and started to whimper.

"It's OK, Snuffles. I won't hurt you. I just want to make sure your coat is nice and shiny. Now that you're not wandering around the countryside, you do want to look your best. Maybe we can find you a nice girl dog for company. I still don't know where I'll keep you at Hogwarts. I don't know if they even let you have dogs as pets. I'm sure I can get Hagrid to take care of you while I'm in class."

Snuffles carefully followed Harry's words. He liked the thought of a girl dog, but he was more interested in a girl witch. And Hagrid was a pushover for any animal. Hopefully, he would be a free man and wouldn't have to worry about it.

While Harry was brushing Snuffles he started musing about his day. "Hey Snuffles, did you know my parents had a will? I didn't know them. They were killed not too long after I was born. I wonder why nobody told me about their will. Well, I'm sure if she knew there was one, Aunt Petunia would have kept it from me."

Snuffles listened intently. Nobody read James and Lily's will? Petunia? Harry was staying with Petunia! If Lily knew that, she would rise right up out of her grave and haunt whoever had the bright idea to put Harry with that magic-hating shrew. This is even worse than I thought.

Harry rambled on, "I wonder what it says. The goblins were really helpful today. I wish I'd been able to talk to Griphook before now."

So, the old Potter account manager was gone. Sirius vaguely remembered Griphook from his trips with James to the bank. He had been the assistant to the Potter accounts. It appeared he was trying to make things right for Harry. He was also enjoying the brushing he was getting. Harry had just the right touch and oh! He just hit the sweet spot! His back leg started jumping up and down. _Don't stop, don't stop!_

After that, Harry took Snuffles back out for a quick walk, then got ready for bed. He sank into the covers and quickly drifted off to sleep. Once Snuffles/Sirius was sure Harry was asleep, he went back into the bathroom and transformed back into his human form. The _scourgify_ had done wonders for his cleanliness, but the anti-vermin charm was wonderful! No more itchy biting fleas! He was worried about Harry. Where was Remus? Why hadn't he taken the boy under his wing? James had been specific about having Remus in Harry's life. Oh, right, nobody had bothered to read James' will. There was going to be hell to pay for someone, once he found out who had done this to Harry. He heard a whimper come from the bed. Apparently Harry was having a nightmare. Quickly changing back into Snuffles, Sirius went back into the bedroom, jumped up on the bed next to Harry, and snuggled into his side. He would do whatever he could to keep Harry safe.


	4. The Will

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it. That honor goes to JK Rowling and her exceptional imagination. I'm just playing with them.**

4\. The Will

Harry spent all day Monday in Diagon Alley working on his homework. He finished the Charms essay he had started the day before and, with Mr. Fortescue's help, his History of Magic work. That just left him his Transfiguration homework. It would be a relief to get this done early. He hadn't been able to do his homework last summer because the Dursleys had locked his books up until the Weasleys broke him out. Once he got to the Burrow, Ron wasn't interested in doing homework. He got some of it done on the train with Hermione's help, and the rest thrown together in the dorm after the Feast. He took a break at one point, and headed down to Flourish and Blotts to get his books for next term. He would try to read ahead as much as he could until he left for school. He hoped that they would have a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. At least, he hoped it would be someone who didn't try to kill him or wipe his memories.

Tuesday morning, Harry finished his Transfiguration homework. After lunch, he changed into one of his Hogwarts robes. He thought he may need to get new robes, as the ones he had were starting to get a little short on him. He tried to get his hair to stay down, but that was a lost cause.

"Snuffles. You have to stay here. I've got to go to Gringotts and listen to my parents' will. Hopefully I'll learn more about them and who I am. Be good, and I'll come back soon."

Harry made his way down the Alley to Gringotts. Once he entered, he asked for Griphook and was taken to him immediately.

"Thank you for coming Mr. Potter. We have been able to contact everyone mentioned in your parents' will with the exception of Sirius Black, the Longbottoms and Arthur Weasley."

"Neville's parents?"

"Yes. They are unable to be here."

"I thought they were dead. Neville said he lived with his grandmother. Oh, and Mr. Weasley's in Egypt. Isn't Sirius Black the man the Ministry is looking for?"

"Yes, unfortunately. We contacted Lady Longbottom, and she will represent her son and daughter-in-law. We received a request from Albus Dumbledore to attend; however, as he is not named in the will as a beneficiary, we denied him attendance. He said that he was your magical guardian, but we have no record either here or at the Ministry appointing him as such. I believe this issue will be settled after the reading. There was also an unusual request to have the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement attend. Madam Bones will be here as well. Do you have any questions?"

"Who else is going to be there?"

"I will have everyone introduce themselves prior to the reading of the will."

"Thank you for all you have done for me, Griphook."

"We have much more to discuss once we have completed the reading."

After a few more minutes, Marspok knocked and let them know that everyone had assembled in the conference room. Harry was ushered down the hall, and was a bit shocked by the number of people in the room, as well as who some of them were.

Griphook announced, "This is the reading of the wills of James Charlus Potter and Lily nee Evans Potter. You have been invited at the request of Lord and Lady Potter. Please introduce yourself for the benefit of the primary heir, Harry James Potter."

"Remus Lupin," said a shaggy wizard with light brown hair and kind eyes.

"Augusta Longbottom," a regal witch with a vulture on her hat and a red purse.

"Andromeda Tonks and my husband Theodore Tonks," a couple at the far end of the table said.

"Severus Snape." Harry was wondering what the greasy git Potions professor was doing here. As usual, he gave Harry a sneer.

"Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," stated a witch with a monocle over her left eye.

"Minerva McGonagall," said his head of house.

Griphook began. "The only people not present or represented are Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley. I believe we are all aware of Lord Black's current status. Mr. Weasley is currently in Egypt and could not be here. He will be provided a transcript of today's reading. This will reading will be done by pensieve replay. Lord and Lady Potter presented themselves to Gringotts on June 27, 1981 and provided this testimony as their last will and testament. If no one has any questions, we can begin the replay." With that, Griphook touched the side of a basin in the middle of the table, and two people rose from it and began speaking.

 _I am James Charlus Potter and this is my wife Lily Evans Potter. This is our last will and testament. I will begin first, and then Lily will include any additional items that she has. If you are seeing this will, then it means I have passed on. I hope that Lily is still there to take care of Harry. Harry, you are the love of our life and our very reason for living. I regret that I am not there to see you grow further._

Harry looked at the pensieved version of his parents. They reminded him of the version of his parents he saw in the Mirror of Erised in his first year. He gave rapt attention to hearing his parents' voices for the first time he could remember.

 _First, however, I must make one announcement. I assume that Gringotts has done as requested and the current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is present. The Secret Keeper for Godric's Hollow is Peter Pettigrew. If we have passed on due to the war with Voldemort, then Peter is the one responsible. We led everyone to believe it was Sirius Black to give us an additional layer of security. Everyone thinks that he is our secret keeper, but we changed it at the last minute. Albus Dumbledore is aware of this. and cast the Fidelius Charm for us._

There were several gasps around the table. Harry looked away from his parents and scanned the room. Remus looked like he was in shock. The head of Magical Law Enforcement's eyes were narrowed in thought. Snape's face, of course, gave away nothing. He looked back at the pensieve memory of his parents, barely taking in what his father was saying.

 _It is our wish that Harry be brought up in a loving environment to foster his growth as a wizard and a responsible citizen in this world. Stop laughing, Sirius! You too, Remus! To provide for this, we select the following individuals, in the order listed, to care for Harry in our absence. Under no circumstances are Petunia Evans Dursley and her husband Vernon Dursley to have any contact whatsoever with Harry. She hated magic and her sister for having it. She is not fit to raise a wizard child._

Harry gave a snort at that comment. Hated magic is an understatement. And she isn't fit to raise a child of any kind. She either stuffs them until they pop or starves them to death.

 _We have established a trust account at Gringotts for you to use while you are going to school and for any apprenticeship you may undertake, Harry. We have seeded it with 20,000 galleons. Hopefully, with the management of the goblins, it has grown considerably. An audit should be made at the first of each August. If at any time the amount goes below 20,000 galleons, it should be replaced from the main Potter vault until such time as you reach the age of seventeen. Sirius and Remus will be able to help you understand and manage this account until you assume the responsibility as Head of House Potter._

They keep saying Sirius and Remus are to be taking care of him but where have they been? Apparently Sirius Black is in Azkaban for betraying them and who knows where Remus had been. His first take at the man was that he'd led a hard life.

 _Sirius Orion Black - you are Harry's godfather and willingly accepted this responsibility. Live up to it! No more chasing him around on a broom. Teach him the responsibilities inherent in leading an Ancient and Most Noble House even if you ran away from your own._

 _Alice and Frank Longbottom - Alice, you are Harry's godmother and we trust you to raise Harry, along with your Neville, to become brothers and young men._

I wonder what happened to them? Neville never talks about them. I'll have to ask him when we get back to school, but I probably should do it in private. He doesn't seem like the kind to talk about a lot of things.

 _Andromeda and Ted Tonks - Anyone who can get themselves kicked out of the House of Black is a woman after my heart. You also know the responsibilities Harry will have, and I know he would love having Nymphadora as a big sister. Please teach him what you know of wizarding politics._

Huh. He could have had a big sister. That would have been nice. If wizarding politics are anything like muggle politics he was in for a long boring lecture or two. Especially after seeing how Fudge handled things with Hagrid last year.

 _Minerva McGonagall - I know having the responsibilities as Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress take up the large amount of your time, but we know how much you love Harry, and we entrust you with his care and his magical education._

So he could have been raised in Hogwarts. That would have been wicked! Having his stern Transfiguration professor as a guardian would have been a much better alternative than what he had.

 _Whomever of the above listed potential guardians is given the responsibility of raising Harry, a monthly stipend of 200 galleons is designated to ensure he is not a burden on you. Once he is old enough, teach Harry the responsibilities he will have, including financial responsibilities._

So were the Dursleys getting paid to keep him? They always said how much of a burden he was; taking food out of poor Dudley's mouth. I wonder if I can sue them to get it back.

 _We designate Remus Lupin as Steward for the House of Potter. You will manage the House of Potter as it should be until Harry is of age. I'm sorry that you cannot represent the House in the Wizengamot. Those rules are silly and should be abolished! Teach Harry his responsibilities, and ensure his education is complete. You were always the smart one of the Marauders, Moony, so we know you will guide Harry and off-set Sirius' prankster self. For your services we will award you a stipend of 15,000 galleons per year and use of the flat in London as long as you need it. It has the special wards, as you well know. In addition, we award you the sum of 100,000 galleons. Get some new robes, Remus! You look like the shaggy dog that Sirius is!_

What does a Steward do? Guess it's something else I'll be learning about.

 _Severus Snape. I know you are wondering why you are here. First, I must offer my sincere apologies to you for our treatment during our school years. I was an idiot and full of myself. I failed to look past the prejudices against Slytherin House and my jealousy of your friendship with Lily to see the person that you really are. I would hope that you will also have a place in Harry's life, especially in teaching him in preparation for his admittance to Hogwarts. You have much to offer him. If Sirius gives you any grief over this, threaten to cut off his tail and turn it into potions ingredients. Lily has more to say to you later._

Harry stole a quick glance at Snape, whose face was as still as stone, and had, if anything, gone paler than usual. Remus looked surprised. I wonder what's up with those two.

 _Minerva McGonagall. You have been a great teacher, head of house and friend. We know how much you already love Harry and how much he enjoys chasing the cat he knows as Minnie around the house. We also entrust his education to you until he comes to Hogwarts. We hope that he will be in your house, but please support him whichever house he is sorted into - and yes, that includes Slytherin. We know that there are many things the Transfiguration Department needs, but we would hope you would use these funds to hire yourself an assistant! You try to do too much as the Deputy Headmistress, Head of House and teacher. We would like to give the sum of 50,000 galleons to you to support the Transfiguration Department. Work with the goblins of Gringotts to invest this wisely and you should have help for a long time coming. In no circumstances is Albus Dumbledore to get his hands on one single knut._

Huh! Wonder why she's blotting here eyes with a handkerchief. She must have known them better than I thought. If she did, why hasn't she bothered to tell me anything about them? One more thing to put on my list of questions to find an answer for. And where is all of this money coming from?

 _Augusta Longbottom. Until Harry is old enough to assume the Potter seat in the Wizengamot, I wish for you to become our voting proxy. The Potters and Longbottoms have long held an alliance of friendship and mutual support. Train Harry in his responsibilities in governing our society._

That doesn't sound like any fun at all! You mean I have a seat in the Wizengamot? Is that like the House of Lords? Guess my summers will be busy studying something other than my summer homework.

 _Now for other bequests. We donate the sum of 100,000 galleons to be used to endow scholarships to Hogwarts for any deserving muggleborn witch or wizard. Scholarships for the first five years should be limited to a total of 5,000 galleons per year, which will come from the main Potter vault. After that, it should be limited only by the amount of interest in the scholarship account. The awarding of these scholarships should be done by a board consisting of Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Ted Tonks, Arthur Weasley, and Amelia Bones. If any of these individuals are unavailable, then a majority vote of the remaining members should dictate who should fill the open positions. Please ensure that those selected understand the need to properly educate the muggleborns in our society. Once Harry comes of age, he will become the chair of this board. Until then, please select a chair from this group. In return for your service we award the sum of 5,000 galleons annually, to come from the main Potter vault. Lily made me see the light to the treatment of muggleborns in our society._

Maybe this is something that would help Hermione or Dean Thomas or even Justin Finch-Fletchly since they're all muggleborns.

 _Now, to Harry. As much as we would love to be here with you, if you are seeing this, the war in our society has taken a turn for the worse. We hope that someday someone will remove the scourge that is Voldemort from our society. Until then, I hope you will use the guidance of all of these people to help you become the wizard we know you will be. To you we leave the remainder of our fortune, properties and businesses. Remus, with the assistance of the goblins, will guide you in their management until you are old enough to manage them yourself. Respect the goblins, treat people kindly, especially house elves and other magical beings, and you will be known for the generosity that the House of Potter's reputation demands._

 _I believe I have said enough, so let me turn to my better half, Lily._

Harry heard his mother for the first time. He vaguely remembered a voice similar to that but all he remembered was a scream. Hey, look at Snape. He looks like he's about to sick up. That's the first time I've seen him do anything other than sneer. Professor McGonagall's got her face covered by that handkerchief.

 _Hello, Harry. I want you to know how much I love you and how much you mean to us. You may look like James, but you are more like me. Those emerald eyes of yours have your father wrapped around your pinky already. Be safe. Remember Quidditch is for fun. Don't let it take your life over, despite what others may tell you. I know Sirius will be buying you the latest broom as soon as they come out, but I trust that Remus, Minerva and, yes, even Severus, will ensure you devote sufficient time to your studies._

UGH! I can't imagine Snape tutoring me when I was little. If I didn't already have nightmares, that would definitely be one.

 _I have placed several journals in the Potter vault detailing my research into different areas. One is refining the Wolfsbane potion. I believe I may have come up with a solution to the problem of severe muscle pain and cramping currently experienced by werewolves during their monthly transformation. Please give that journal to Severus, so that he can continue my work. Severus, take my research and complete it. When you have, patent it so that you can enjoy the royalties from it. Additionally, we give you, 30,000 galleons to use as you desire. Buy some of those rare potion ingredients you've always wanted to experiment with or take a trip to some of those Potions conferences you always dreamed about. Protect my son, Severus. I am sorry that I did not accept your apology when you offered it so please accept mine now. Do not be bitter, Severus. You're a much better man than that._

Well that was interesting. Looks like Remus is getting out a handkerchief too. I guess I need to learn more about what this wolfsbane potion is and why this would be a major breakthrough. Snape looks shocked for some reason. He must have known my parents at some point enough for them to remember him in her will. That will be interesting to find out.

 _Harry, in addition to our holdings in Gringotts, I have an account with Barclays Bank in London. When I last checked, it held approximately 50,000 pounds in it. Although they do not know it, I am the backer for Petunia and Vernon's house note. This account is the management account for that. While I want you to ensure it is properly managed, I do not want you to have any contact with them. Although I love my sister, I do not wish for you to be exposed to the hateful woman she has become under the influence of that fat oaf Vernon. This will allow you to have access to Muggle money in an emergency. Our account manager will provide you with a card to use for that account. Make sure you notify him of any withdrawals so that he can reimburse it. James?_

I have a muggle bank account? That's something new. And I technically own the Dursleys' house. Wicked!

 _Lily turned back to James._

 _Prongslet, when you find that special person, be they witch, wizard, or muggle, love them fiercely. We do not know how much time we have on this earth so love with all of your heart. It may mean that you may get your heart broken, but you will be better for it._

Eeeeeewww. Marriage already? No.

 _I think that about sums it up. Oh, one other thing. Albus Dumbledore is to have no influence over the care and upbringing of Harry. I know he is a brilliant wizard but he tends to mold people and things to his sense of purpose. It may not always be what is best for them. He should have no more influence over Harry than a Headmaster has over any other Hogwarts student._

Well, all Albus Dumbledore has done is meddle with his life. Fat chance he'll stop now.

 _Thank you all for your time. I am sorry we cannot be there to see Harry become a man and grow into the person we know he will be._

 _I swear on my magic that this is a true representation of my desires. So say I. So mote it be._

The last three sentences were pronounced in unison by both James and Lily. With that, the figures sank back into the bowl.

Harry stole a quick glance around the room. Snape had gone back to his standard emotionless expression, Madam Longbottom still maintained her regal presence, the Tonks looked a little sad, Professor McGonagall was drying her eyes and Remus Lupin was just looking wilted.

Griphook stood up at that point. "All bequests are being satisfied at this time. You should see the appropriate amount of gold added to your vaults, and a new statement will be sent to you tomorrow. If there are no questions, I thank you for your attendance."

Harry had slumped down in his chair and hadn't realized that tears had been running down his cheeks until he felt a strong arm around him and him being pulled into a hug.

"I'm sorry, cub, that I haven't been here for you. I am now. I'm Remus Lupin, but you can call me Moony." Although he relaxed the hug, he didn't let go.

Harry looked around the room, as the others had gotten up from their seats and were attempting to speak to him. Somehow, a glass of water made its way into his hand. He gratefully took several sips before taking a deep breath.

"Thank you. It's good to meet some of my parents' friends."

Professor McGonagall came to him next, "Mr. Potter. Harry, I believe we have much to talk about. I will arrange some time after you return to Hogwarts. Until then, please let me know if there is anything I can do. I believe you have an owl, correct?"

"Yes Ma'am. Hedwig is my owl."

"Yes, that beautiful snowy owl. I'm sure she will be happy to take any message you may have for me or any other professors at Hogwarts." With that she sent a glare towards Professor Snape.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall. Does Hogwarts allow dogs?"

"Dog, Mr. Potter? I was unaware that you had a dog."

"Yes Ma'am. He adopted me this summer. He doesn't have to stay with me in the dorm. I'm sure Hagrid will be happy to keep him. Fang would probably enjoy having another friend."

"I believe that would be acceptable, provided you write Hagrid and ask for his permission first."

"Yes Ma'am! I'll do that tonight before bed."

"Harry, I'm Andromeda Tonks and this is my husband Ted. Ted is a muggleborn wizard, which is why I am no longer welcome in the house of Black. Our home is open to you if you ever need us. We will work with you in any way to help you in your journey. I believe you will get along well with our daughter Nymphadora. She is currently in training to become an Auror."

Harry stood up and put out his hand to shake her and her husband's hands. "Thank you, Ma'am, Sir. I look forward to getting to know you as well."

The next person who greeted him was the witch with the monocle. "Mr. Potter, I am Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I believe you know my niece Susan."

"Yes Ma'am. We have a couple of classes together. I don't know that many others outside of Gryffindor, but I've always been treated well by her and the other Hufflepuffs."

"I realize this is not the time for serious discussions. Would you be available to come to the Ministry on Thursday to discuss information that has been brought to light by your parents? I would also like you there as well, Mr. Lupin."

"If you think it can help, sure. I've never been to the Ministry of Magic before."

Remus spoke up, "That is not a problem, Harry. I can take you there. What time would you like us there Madam Bones?"

"Would ten in the morning be convenient?"

"Yes Ma'am. Thank you for being here."

"Of course, Mr. Potter. I worked with your father when he was an Auror. I look forward to speaking with you further."

The next person in line was the witch with the vulture on her hat, "Neville speaks highly of you, Mr. Potter. I'm sorry that you were not able to grow up with him. Your parents and Neville's were very good friends. I have been training Neville in his responsibilities as the Head of an Ancient and Noble House. I believe these lessons would benefit you as well."

"Yes Ma'am, if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. However I believe it is too late for you to join in his training this summer so I will contact you prior to the next summer's break to arrange specific times."

"Thank you Ma'am."

Harry looked at the only other person in the room, Professor Snape. "Potter. If I may ask a personal question?"

"Uh… yes. Sir."

"Since everyone named as guardians for you were in this room except for Black, just who have you been living with all of this time?"

"Aunt Petunia."

"Who was the idiot who put you with her?" Snape asked coldly.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir."

"Albus put you with Petunia when he knew of her hatred of all things magic?"

"Yes sir."

"Mr. Potter, I believe we have quite a few things to discuss when you return to Hogwarts. I will be speaking to the Headmaster, as well, about his choices. Lupin, I assume you will assist Mr. Potter until he returns?"

"Of course, Severus. However, as you know, I have accepted the Defense Against the Dark Arts position and will be arriving a few days prior to the students, as I will be… unavailable… on August 31. I will ensure Harry is appropriately guarded during this time."

"Ah yes. Albus has asked me to assist you that day. You may want to contact the Weasleys to watch him the last few days."

"I don't need a babysitter! I've been doing just fine these last few days."

"Be that as it may, I am sure you will find some mischief to get into before you return to school. Diagon Alley will be much busier, closer to the start of school. I do hope there will not be a repeat of last year's entrance."

"As long as a crazy house elf doesn't seal up the entrance this year. Oh, Professor. I'll see about getting my mother's journal from the vault and bring it to you."

"There is no hurry. I ... appreciate your thoughtfulness."

 _Wait! Did Snape just say something nice to me?_

Griphook spoke next, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, I believe we have much to discuss but this is not the time. Are you available tomorrow?"

Remus looked at Harry who nodded, "Of course. What would be a convenient time?"

"Ten in the morning would be acceptable."

"We will see you then."

"This room is not needed the rest of the day. Take your time departing."

After Griphook left, Remus had Harry sit down again. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"I see you have adopted the Potter response to any inquiries as to their health and well being. Let's try again. How are you doing?"

"I'm confused. If I was never suppose to go to the Dursleys then why was I put there?"

"I don't know, but I can assure you I will be talking to Professor Dumbledore about it. How did you get here this morning? Did your uncle drop you off at the Leaky Cauldron?"

Harry snorted, "Fat chance! I left the Dursley's house Saturday evening. I caught the Knight Bus here. I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron since."

"You ran away? Why?"

"It's a long story."

"Why don't I take you back to the Cauldron and get you some dinner? We can discuss this further after you've had a chance to rest and eat."

"Thank you. I probably need to let my dog out. Snuffles wasn't very happy being left behind."

"Snuffles?"

"Yeah, that's what he told me to call him."

"The dog told you to call him Snuffles?" asked Remus warily.

"He seems pretty intelligent. I asked him if he liked a couple of other names but he liked Snuffles."

"And what kind of dog is Snuffles?"

"I don't know. I don't know much about dogs except for the ones Aunt Marge raises. Oh, Aunt Marge is Uncle Vernon's sister. Snuffles is a big black shaggy dog. He must have been someone's pet because he's very well behaved."

Remus paled. No, it couldn't be. Sirius was on the run. There's no way he would have been able to find Harry, especially in the Muggle world.

"Well, let's go and see this beast of yours."

They walked back down the Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron. Remus kept the talk light, "So how has Hogwarts been?"

"Brilliant! It's huge! There's so much to learn there, and everyone has been great for the most part. Well, everyone except Malfoy."

"Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"Yeah, he always tries to pick a fight with me. He and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy can't go anywhere without them trailing behind him."

"What is your favorite part of Hogwarts?"

"That's hard to say. The food is excellent, most of the classes are as well. Well, all except Potions."

"I take it Severus has been his typical cheerful self?"

"I guess you could say that. He was almost nice to me today."

"I think he was surprised by Lily's and James' actions."

"I guess they knew each other."

"Severus was in the same year as we were. You could say he and your father got along about as well as you and Malfoy."

"So that's why he hates me!"

"I'm not sure he hates you, but I can see how he might carry a grudge. You do look a lot like James, but you have your mother's eyes."

"That's what people tell me. I never even knew what they looked like until Hagrid gave me a photo album at the end of my first year."

"Petunia didn't have any photos for you to look at?"

"Hah! Until Hagrid showed up and told me I was a wizard and about Voldemort and how my parents died I thought they were drunks who got killed in a car crash."

"A car crash? Your parents were some of the most loved people of our time. How could anyone think they would have been killed in a car crash?"

"You'll have to ask Aunt Petunia that," Harry spat.

"Trust me. I fully intend to."


	5. Meet Sirius Black

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in the novels or movies. All rights belong to Madam Rowling.**

5\. Introducing Sirius Black

By this time they had reached the exit from Diagon Alley and entered the Leaky Cauldron. Harry asked, "Would you like to come up with me while I get Snuffles?"

"If you don't mind." Remus was looking forward to meeting Harry's new "dog."

"No, of course not." Harry led the way to his room and opened the door. Snuffles was laying on the rug in front of the fireplace although there was no fire burning. Remus looked at the dog and quickly closed the door and applied locking and silencing charms.

"PADFOOT!"

The dog's head snapped up, tucked his tail under and then quickly started slinking backwards away from them.

"Why did you call him Padfoot? His name is Snuffles."

"I believe there is more to this dog than he has let you know. Padfoot, show yourself. I won't harm you - yet."

The dog whimpered.

"Padfoot. Now!"

The next thing Harry saw was the dog turning into a man. A very dirty, bedraggled man.

"Harry, may I introduce you to your godfather, Sirius Black."

"He's Sirius Black? But he's a murderer! And he's been sleeping in my room!"

"Harry, calm down. I am NOT a murderer contrary to what people are saying about me."

Remus kept his wand trained on Sirius, "Then what happened with Peter?"

"I chased Peter all over until I had him cornered. Just as I was casting a petrifying curse, he pointed his wand at the ground and sent a blasting curse. Right before it happened he cut off his finger then transformed into his rat form and ducked down the sewers. I swear Remus. You can give me Veritaserum!"

"That must be why James and Lily asked Amelia to attend. She wants to speak with us Thursday."

"Good. Tell her I'll come in willingly, if she will guarantee my safety, and that I be allowed to testify under Veritaserum."

"Didn't they give you Veritaserum before you were sent to Azkaban?"

"Remus, where have you been? There WAS no trial. There was no questioning under Veritaserum. Crouch, Fudge and Dumbledore conspired and sent me straight to Azkaban."

"Dumbledore?"

"Yes! As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, he had the ability to ensure I was granted a fair trial. Instead, I was packed straight away to Azkaban."

"And I never even checked. I was told you confessed."

"Confessed?"

"They said when the Aurors got there you were laughing hysterically and saying 'I killed them' over and over."

"I may as well have killed them. I convinced James and Lily to use Peter as their secret keeper. Nobody would suspect Peter. If I had known he'd gone over to Voldemort I would have killed him sooner."

"How did you escape Azkaban, and why now?"

"The Dementors had little effect on me while I was in my animagus form. Except for meal times and bed checks, I stayed transformed. As to why now, well, I've found Peter!"

"Peter's alive? How? And where is he?"

"One day while Fudge was inspecting the prison he stopped at my cell. He was surprised I was able to tell who he was and that I was not drooling like my idiot cousin Bellatrix. I noticed he had a paper in his hand and asked him if I could have it. I told him I missed doing the crossword puzzles. The idiot believed me and handed me his paper."

"What was so special?"

"On the front page was Peter. Well, it wasn't Peter, it was his rat form. He was on some kid's shoulder."

Now it was Harry's turn to pale. He quickly headed over to his trunk to search for the clipping Ron had sent him. He handed it to Remus.

"Ron sent this to me on my birthday. He and his family are in Egypt. That's why Mr. Weasley wasn't at the reading today. Are you saying that rat is Peter?"

Remus studied the picture carefully then handed it to Sirius. "It sure looks like him. We would have to check to see if it has all of its toes."

"It doesn't. On the ride to Hogwarts the first time, Ron showed him to me and talked about how it had been in his family for years. It was his brother Percy's pet, until Percy got an owl and gave Scabbers to Ron. You mean I've been sleeping in the same room as my parents' killer for the past two years?"

Remus answered, "It appears so. I'll talk to Amelia and see if we can find a way to get to Peter. It would be better to have him found, before you are, Sirius. Right now they have a 'Kiss on Sight' order out for you."

"Remus, I think I should have a solicitor for this. I don't want to have anything to do with the Black family solicitor. He would probably throw me to the Dementors without second thoughts. I believe James used Gerald Howe. James liked him, and the times I went with him to see Gerald, he appeared to be quite competent."

"Perhaps we can arrange a meeting. Harry, do you think I could borrow your owl? You said her name was Hedwig?"

"Yes."

"Would she be willing to take a letter to Mr. Howe?"

Hearing her name, Hedwig raised her head, fluffed her feathers and flew over to the back of Remus' chair. Remus laughed, "Well I think that answers that question. Harry, do you have some parchment and a quill I could use?"

"Sure." Harry dug into his knapsack for said items and handed them to Remus.

"What should I tell him?"

"Why don't you tell him that you would like to meet with him about Harry. I'm sure he would be more than willing to do that."

"Where should we meet?"

"I think his office would be fine. I can go as Padfoot. You can say I'm an additional bit of security for Harry during this uncertain time, or some rubbish like that."

"When would you like to meet?"

"If he has some time tomorrow, that would be great. I'd like to do it before you see Amelia."

"We have a meeting with the goblins tomorrow at 9. Perhaps 3 in the afternoon would work. I'll suggest it, and if he cannot make it we'll figure something else out."

While Remus penned the letter to the solicitor Sirius turned to Harry, "Well pup, I'm your godfather. I had hoped we would have met under different circumstances." He then reached to Harry to pull him into a hug, but Harry pulled back. "What's the matter pup? You used to like your Uncle Paddy."

"Sorry, I'm just not used to strangers."

Remus caught that discussion, "Padfoot, take it slow. He's been living with Petunia."

Sirius jumped up. "Is that why I found you in that Muggle neighborhood?"

"Yeah."

"So, who do I have to bite for that boneheaded move?"

Both Harry and Remus answered together, "Dumbledore."

"Albus did that? Albus Dumbledore has a lot to answer for!"

"You don't know the half of it. We need to tell you about the will reading. However, I think we need to get Harry some dinner and you look like you could use a good meal yourself."

"Tom's been giving me a portion of whatever Harry's been having so I've had a couple of good meals."

Harry had a wicked glint in his eyes, "And don't forget the ham bone."

Sirius' eyes glazed over, "I thought I was in heaven that night!"

Remus handed the note to Harry to attach to Hedwig's leg. Hedwig eyed each of them and then soared off on her mission.


	6. A Little Help from the Goblins

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Those rights belong to the gracious J.K. Rowling.**

6\. A Little Help from the Goblins

After talking about their plan for the next two hours, Remus left. He would return and have breakfast with Harry and 'Snuffles' before they went back to Gringotts. Harry felt bad about not having another bed in the room for Sirius, but Remus took care of that by transfiguring one of the chairs into a bed. He would reverse it the next morning so no one would be the wiser. He would also bring a change of clothes for Sirius. Harry let Sirius have the shower first. He needed it much worse than Harry did.

As Harry was dressing the next morning, Hedwig returned with a letter from Mr. Howe. He was available to meet with them at three. He was quite pleased to hear that Harry wanted to meet with him, as he had been under the impression that the Potter business had been transferred to another solicitor. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Harry made sure to slip Snuffles an extra couple of pieces of bacon. They took Snuffles back upstairs to the room and he and Remus made their way to Gringotts.

Once they were shown to Griphook's office, they got down to business.

"I apologize for being vague yesterday but until I was certain of the specification of the Potters' will I could not be sure which direction we should go. Mr. Potter, to be blunt, someone has been manipulating your finances. Now that we have discovered this, we have frozen all Potter accounts until we are able to determine how to proceed. May I ask how you got the key you presented the first time you visited Gringotts?"

"Hagrid had it. I had no idea of what Gringotts was until we stepped in. Why?"

"Upon your parents' deaths, the Potter Vault was sealed with the exception of your trust vault, as we knew you had survived the attack. The only key to your trust vault was given to Lord Potter the day he set it up. I verified the first time you entered your vault that this was, in fact, the same key we provided Lord Potter. I can only assume that someone removed it from your parents' home after their death. Apparently, prior to your coming of age, Albus Dumbledore presented an affidavit of magical guardianship and was able to enter your trust vault. A sum of 10,000 galleons has been removed over the ten years since your parents' death. The deductions stopped after you were given your key and you assumed control over your trust account. As I told you yesterday, Albus Dumbledore requested to participate in yesterday's reading under the guise of being your magical guardian. We then took a closer look at the document he provided and checked with Wizarding Family Services for their record. Wizarding Family Services had no record of a guardianship for you, magic or muggle. The document presented to us was a forgery. Mr. Dumbledore had also sealed the written copy of your parents' will that had been filed at the Ministry. As Mr. Dumbledore has no standing with the goblins, we went ahead with yesterday's proceedings. I believe you can see where this discussion is leading."

"You mean Professor Dumbledore was stealing from me?"

"Yes. I believe so. We have been able to track some of these transactions. We have discovered some were converted into muggle money and transferred to an account at the Bank of England. The account is in the name of Vernon and Petunia Dursley."

Harry got really upset at this statement, "You mean he was paying the Dursleys to keep me? All I ever heard from them was how much of a burden I was to them, how I was taking food out of poor Dudley's mouth. They could only afford to give me Dudley's hand me downs! How much is that in English pounds?"

"The current conversion rate is one galleon to five pounds."

"So Dumbledore gave them £50,000 pounds over ten years to take care of me?"

"Yes."

At that point the room started shaking and everything on the desk started rattling.

Remus jumped in, "Harry, calm down. It will do no good to let your magic go wild. We can work through this."

"But Remus …"

"I know Harry. But we can work through this. I suspect Griphook has already worked out a solution."

"I have, Mr. Lupin. We have also requested an audit of the account at Barclays that Lady Potter mentioned. It appears that some of the money removed from your vault was used to subsidize the mortgage on the Dursley's home. Only half of the money went directly to them. The remainder was used to 'buy down' the mortgage on Privet Drive. The Dursleys are under the impression that their mortgage payment is £800 per month instead of the stated £1600 per month. We have arranged with Barclays to provide the Dursleys with a notice that their mortgage has been adjusted and that their new payment is £1600 per month. The subsidy has been halted."

"So the Dursleys now have to pay double what they were paying? Wicked!" said Harry.

Remus just laughed at that.

"Although we cannot reclaim all of the money that has been taken from you at this time, we at Gringotts believe we have worked out an equitable solution. The only other option would be to go directly after Mr. Dumbledore in both the goblin court and the wizard court. With his position over the wizard court we would be hard pressed to get a proper verdict. We can prosecute him in the goblin court for theft by deception, if you wish. I would advise against it."

"Why?"

"I believe it is unwise at this time to, as the muggles say, show your hand. Although Mr. Dumbledore will hear most of the contents of the will from those present, it would be best to let him think he has not been caught. He will be getting enough pressure on multiple sides as to his placement of you with the Dursleys among other things. I suspect he will be hearing from the Dursleys soon enough in regards to their mortgage payment and the need to increase their stipend."

"That will be priceless! Aunt Petunia going after Professor Dumbledore!"

"My next question is a bit personal, but I believe it must be asked."

"Sure."

"Please describe your life at the Dursleys. You do not need to go into detail. Were you given sufficient food? Appropriate accommodations? What about proper medical care? Were you seen by a wizard healer prior to going to Hogwarts? You have stated that you were given your cousin's second hand clothes so that column we can tick off as a no."

"No."

"No, Mr. Potter?"

"No, as in 'no' to each of your questions."

Remus interjected, "You mean they never took you to St. Mungos before you went to Hogwarts? It's a requirement of all muggle born or muggle raised children to have a complete physical and appropriate wizard vaccinations before you go to Hogwarts! Did Madam Pomfrey check you out when you got there?"

"There are wizard vaccinations?"

"I should have known! Didn't Hagrid give you the pamphlet for muggle born or muggle raised children?"

"There's a pamphlet?"

"Of course! How do you think they know how to get to Diagon Alley or to Gringotts to exchange money? It also provides information about each class and additional material to make it easier to blend into the magical world."

"All I got was a quick tour with Hagrid then he headed back to Hogwarts and sent me back to Privet Drive on the underground."

"Albus has a lot to answer for! I think it would be wise for you to see a healer, Harry."

"But I've been in the hospital wing several times over the past two years, and Madam Pomfrey hasn't said anything."

"Be that as it may, this needs to be done. Griphook, do you know a healer who would be discrete about this? Due to Harry's fame, a trip to St. Mungos would be tantamount to publishing it in the Daily Prophet."

"We have a goblin healer on standby just for this. We feared this was the case. Our healer can do more than just the standard physical and vaccinations."

Remus asked first, "Could you elaborate?"

"We can perform the basic physical and vaccinations, as well as checking for any hexes or charms placed on Mr. Potter, and also check for any bindings on his magic."

"Ah yes. I know James put a bind on his core as he was constantly showing accidental magic even at that early age. If you wanted something like a stuffed toy, Harry, you just had to put out your hand towards it and it would come to you immediately. It was suppose to expire when he turned ten, so that his magical core could stabilize before he went to Hogwarts. This would be a good thing to check."

"So is accidental magic how I ended up on the school roof one day?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dudley and his gang were chasing me around the playground. They backed me into an area near the kitchen. All I remember is wishing I was somewhere else where they couldn't get me. The next thing I know I was up on the roof and everyone was yelling at me to come down. They had to get the custodian to come up and get me."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Eight."

"You apparated when you were eight with a bind on your core?"

"I guess so."

"We definitely need to have your core scanned."

"If you wish, we may go there now. I will send someone to let them know we are coming. Marspok!"

Marspok entered the room. "Yes, Account Manager Griphook?"

"Please notify Healer Sormot that we are on our way to see him."

"Of course. Account Manager Griphook."

Once Marspok left, Griphook stood and asked them to follow him. Once again they went through a warren of hallways before coming to another nondescript door. Griphook opened it and ushered them into what was apparently the outer office of the medical section of Gringotts. He spoke to the person at the desk in Gobbledygook for a minute. "Healer Sormot will be with you shortly. Once you are finished here, Marspok will show you back to my office."

"Do you know how long this will take? I hadn't figured on being here this long so I made another appointment at three."

"The initial scans should only take about an hour. If treatment is required, Healer Sormot will set another time for you to return, barring anything serious."

"Thank you, Griphook."

After Griphook left, Remus turned to Harry. "That was very sly of you the way you asked about the time."

"Well, the sorting hat did want to put me in Slytherin."

"It WHAT?"

"It's another of those long stories that I probably should hold and tell both you and Sirius together."

At that time, another goblin entered the room. "I am Healer Sormot. Mr. Potter, if you will follow me. I'm sorry but no one else can be in the examination room. I will let you know if there are any problems."

Harry followed the goblin into the examination room. He had very little experience with muggle doctors, but those he had were unpleasant. Madam Pomfrey was alright, but he was tired of always ending up in the hospital wing.

"Mr. Potter, if you will remove your shoes and lay on the examination table we will begin."

Harry took off his shoes and hopped up on the exam table as requested. It didn't feel like any exam table or hospital bed he'd ever been on. Instead of a hard surface, it felt like he was floating on a cloud. He instantly relaxed.

"You may feel some tingling through your body or possibly a feeling of warmth. It should not be uncomfortable. I will let you know when the scan is complete."

"Ok," Harry said, and tried to allow himself to relax into the cloud. After a short time, he felt something akin to humming all through his body. It wasn't uncomfortable, just different. He did feel some tingling in his arms and hands. Then, without warning, he felt like something had stabbed him in the head. He cried out in pain. "Ouch! What was that?"

"We are almost done. I believe I know what caused the pain, but let us complete this before I am able to be certain."

About ten minutes later Healer Sormot told Harry the examination was complete and he could put his shoes back on. He was shown into another room that resembled Griphook's office. The goblins must have a standard office setup. Remus came in right after him.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Fine."

"I believe we have covered that response before."

"I don't feel any different. Well except my head."

"What's wrong with your head?"

"All of a sudden, my scar started hurting really bad. It went away fairly quickly, but there's still a bit of a headache left. Otherwise, it was fine. I'd love a bed like that. How long was I in there?"

"About 90 minutes."

"Wow. That long! I thought it was only suppose to take an hour. Are we going to be late for the other appointment?"

"I think we'll be just fine. Healer Sormot?"

"Mr. Potter - and you are?"

"Remus Lupin."

"Mr. Lupin, are you Mr. Potter's guardian?"

"Not legally, no."

"I'm afraid I cannot discuss the findings of the examination with anyone other than Mr. Potter and his guardian."

"It's OK Healer Sormot. My guardianship is currently unknown at this time. I'm fine with Remus hearing the results."

"Very well. Your overall health is relatively good despite everything we have found. You still suffer from chronic malnutrition; however, it has shown improvement over the past two years. As a result, your bone growth is stunted and your muscle tone is weaker than it should be. I believe much of this can be reversed with a course of potions."

Harry made a face, "I hate taking potions. They taste nasty."

"Be that as it may, this will allow you to catch up with your year group norms for height, and allow you to add some additional weight. The next item of concern are several bone fractures that have healed improperly. There is evidence of a broken wrist in your left arm as well as several broken fingers. You have two rib fractures that have healed improperly, as well as an ankle break in your right foot that did not heal well. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I'd rather not."

"Harry, Healer Sormot must know so that he can determine how best to treat you."

"Dudley and his goons were chasing me. I thought I had out run them but the next thing I knew I tripped over something and crashed down on my arm. Then when I went to tell Aunt Petunia, Dudley beat me there, and when I came in the door, he pushed me out and closed the door on my hand."

"And the ribs?"

"I tripped."

"Really Mr. Potter, I do believe you can do better than that. I am sworn to secrecy of anything you tell me. Now, how did it happen?"

"Dudley and his friends again. I had told the teacher that Dudley had ripped up my homework. He had to stay in from recess. On the way home, he and his friends decided to play their favorite game of 'Harry Hunting'. This time when they caught me, they took turns punching me. I think one of them kicked me a couple of times. After that, my side hurt and I had some problems breathing for a couple of weeks."

"And the ankle?"

"I had just finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom and was heading back downstairs to put up the cleaning supplies. I had a hard time seeing ahead of me. As I got to the stairs, I felt a shove in my back and the next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the stairs. My ankle hurt awfully bad, but my uncle just said I was faking it to get out of doing chores."

Remus interjected, "Harry, what did your aunt and uncle do to punish your cousin for these assaults?"

"Punish? Dudley? As far as I know, he's never been punished in his life. Anything that's happened has always been my fault."

"Mr. Potter, I am quite curious about the scar on your arm. My readings show traces of basilisk venom."

"Oh yeah. That happened at the end of last school year."

Remus paled, "Harry, how did you come in contact with a basilisk? There hasn't been one sighted in all of the British Isles in over 700 years."

"That's another one of those stories that will take way too long to tell here. If it weren't for Fawkes, I wouldn't be here now."

"Fawkes? Professor Dumbledore's phoenix?"

"Yes. He cried over my arm and everything healed up just fine."

"That is amazing. I am anxious to hear the entire story."

"The next question I have for you is about your right arm. My scan shows recent bone growth within the past year. How did you manage to hurt yourself to the point you had to have all of the bones in your right arm regrown?"

"A rogue bludger and Gilderoy Lockhart."

"What do you mean, Gilderoy Lockhart? Who in their right mind would let that incompetent fool anywhere near children?"

"Ask Dumbledore. He was our DADA teacher last year."

"Oh my. We do have a lot to talk about, if he was your teacher - and I use that term loosely."

"The last item as it relates to your physical health that I would like to discuss with you is your scar."

"What about it?"

"I noticed when the part of the exam to detect any charms, curses or hexes reached your head you had a considerable amount of pain. Does your scar hurt you normally?"

"No, not really. Only when I'm in the presence of Voldemort it seems."

"But Harry, you were 15 months old when he gave you that scar. How can it be hurting now?"

"Add it to the list of things I need to explain along with the basilisk and several others."

"You've fought Voldemort recently?"

"Yes."

Remus thought he was going to be sick. "Do I want to know how or why you have fought Voldemort recently?"

"Probably not, but I suppose if you're going to be managing my affairs you probably will need to know."

"I probably will need a bottle of firewhiskey when this is over."

"Our cursebreakers have experience with many types of dark curses. I am able to arrange for you to meet with them if you are interested in learning more about your scar and possible ways to break the connection."

"I would love to get rid of this thing. It's more trouble than it's worth."

"I will discuss it with them and set up an appointment for them to study your scar."

"Is there anything else Healer Sormot?" Remus was afraid to ask, but knew he had to.

"Unfortunately, yes. An analysis of your magical core, Mr. Potter, also yielded a few surprises. You have evidence of a binding on your core placed by James Potter when you were approximately a year old."

Remus answered this one. "Yes, James had to place that one, as Harry was performing accidental magic from the time he was only a few months old. It was suppose to have been lifted when Harry was ten years old in order for his core to stabilize before he started Hogwarts."

"Yes, that block has been released however it apparently released when you were approximately eight years old."

"Harry burned through the block that early?"

"Yes. Mr. Potter's core appears to be a bit larger than we commonly see in a wizard his age and it has not yet matured. Additionally, he had another block placed on his core at age eleven. This one was placed by Albus Dumbledore. It restricts Mr. Potter to 60 percent of his available magic."

"He WHAT! Albus Dumbledore will rue the day he heard the name Remus Lupin when I get through with him. I believe I can solicit some help from a certain tabby cat witch as well. And possibly a dungeon bat."

Harry had to laugh at Remus' description of Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. "So what does this mean for me?"

"Have you had problems performing magic at the same level as your classmates?"

"A little bit, but I just thought that was me. Some folks just find it easier than others."

"No, that is the block. It can also cause you to have problems remembering things you have learned as well."

"So how do I get rid of it?"

"We will be able to remove it, if it is your wish. However, I have more information to give you first."

Harry rolled his eyes, "You mean there's more? Why can't I be a normal wizard like everyone else?"

"We found several charms on you as well. One is a tracking charm. Another is an aversion charm. That one is set to cause immediate ill will towards anyone named Dursley. I suspect if we checked them we would find a similar charm on them. The final charm we discovered is an owl redirection charm."

"Do I need to know who placed those?"

"I believe you already know the answer to that question."

"I understand the first two, but what's the purpose of the last one? Why put an owl redirection charm on me?"

"This charm lets owls trying to find you to deliver their mail to a different place."

"But I have no problem getting owls from Hogwarts or the Weasleys, not to mention my own owl!"

"This charm can be set to specify which owls it allows through and which owls should deliver your mail elsewhere. Tell me, have you ever received a statement from Gringotts?"

"No."

"We send out quarterly statements to our account holders."

"So somewhere is a dead letter drop, with letters to me?"

"It could be a room, a person or just about anything. After you defeated You-Know-Who, many witches and wizards were happily offering to adopt you or make you their heir. I'm sure several of them wanted to offer their daughters in marriage."

"Ewwwww! I think I'm a little young for that. So somewhere, there is a pile of mail with my name on it?"

"Unless someone immediately destroyed it, yes."

"What can I do to get out from under all of this?"

"We are able to remove the bindings as well as the charms. I can set you up with another appointment to have those taken care of. I can set that for the same day that you visit with the cursebreakers."

"Great! I'd love to have all of this done with before I go back to school."

"When would be convenient for you?"

"I've got another appointment tomorrow so would Friday be OK?"

"Of course. Would nine in the morning suit you?"

"Not a problem."

"If you will ask for me, someone will bring you here. I will have the cursebreakers look at your scar first, before we do anything else. It should only take about an hour to remove the binding and charms on you but I do not know how long the cursebreakers will need."

"Like it took an hour for the scan?"

"Any other questions?"

Remus had one. "Would it be possible to get a copy of your results? We have an appointment with Director Bones tomorrow. I would like for her to see the results of our Chief Warlock's actions."

"Certainly." With that, Healer Sormot waved his hand, and a second copy was produced and handed to Remus.

"I will have Marspok show you out."

"Thank you, Healer Sormot. I will see you Friday."


	7. Legal Wrangling

7\. Legal Wrangling

After a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, they headed back out into Diagon Alley and to the law offices of Dewey and Howe. Their office was in a side street near Flourish and Blotts. After seeing the stares Harry had gotten on their previous trips, Remus put a glamour charm on Harry so that he was not as visible to others in the Alley. Padfoot, as Harry had begun to call him, trotted along and served the purpose of keeping people away from Harry just in case the glamour didn't; nobody wanted to deal with what appeared to be a Grim.

They were ushered into Gerald Howe's office. His assistant brought a tea service in for them and closed the door behind herself. Once the door was closed, Remus removed the glamour from Harry.

"Mr. Potter, it is good to finally meet you." He turned to Remus, "You must be Mr. Lupin."

"Yes. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."

"Of course. And who is this handsome fellow with you?"

"Oh, this is Padfoot. He's my familiar," said Harry.

"Well it's good to meet you as well, Padfoot. I do believe I have a biscuit here for you."

They all sat down while Mr. Howe poured their tea.

"Now, how may I be of assistance? I was pleasantly surprised to get your owl. I thought the Potters were being represented by another solicitor."

"I have no idea who may have been representing Harry, however we have several items to discuss with you that are highly sensitive. We need to ensure you will respect this need before we go further."

"Of course. I am proud of my ability to represent my clients with the utmost of discretion."

"Would you be willing to swear a wizard's oath?"

"It's that serious?" When Remus nodded Mr. Howe raised his wand, and stated, "I, Gerald Horatio Howe, do swear on my life and magic that all matters discussed with these clients will not be shared without the express consent of those present. So mote it be." A yellow light briefly flared around him.

"Now, what can be so serious as to require a wizard's oath?"

"First, please tell me why you were surprised when we requested an appointment with you."

"It was my understanding that Albus Dumbledore had selected different counsel to handle Mr. Potter's affairs."

"Did anyone question whether he had the authority to make such a change?"

"Not that I'm aware of. We received an owl from him asking us to turn our files for the Potters over to Digby and Glick. Naturally we had heard of the fate of the Potters, and the fact that Mr. Potter here had survived, but assumed that his guardian simply preferred a different firm. We had no reason to question the move."

"You have just given an example of why we need your services. Harry has several grievances against Dumbledore, including theft of property, binding a minor's magic without permission, placing charms on a minor without proper permission, and ignoring the stipulations of a legally executed will, resulting in damage to the minor. There is more, but these apply specifically to Harry. I am sure there will be other things to add as we go along."

"Those are some serious charges. I assume you have proof."

"The goblins should have a transcript of the will prepared by now. I will get you a copy. Suffice it to say that all of the wishes of Harry's parents were ignored. To begin with, Harry was placed with his mother's muggle sister and her husband, against the Potters' wishes, which Dumbledore expressly ignored. Placing Harry with them resulted in physical and emotional abuse over a period of years."

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Remus shot him a sympathetic look, but continued. "Several possible guardians were named in the will, to ensure Harry was brought up by an appropriate wizard guardian, and to ensure he would be trained in his responsibilities by the time he attained his majority. Dumbledore also placed three charms on Harry. One was to track his movements when there was no reason to do so. The other was an aversion charm, apparently placed on him when he was dropped off at the Dursleys, that caused them to treat him poorly.. We suspect, but are unable to verify yet, that another was placed on the Dursleys, as well. This guaranteed enmity between Harry and them. There was also an owl redirection charm which, so far, has only allowed his owl, Hogwarts owls, and the Weasley family owls to reach him. Then when he was eleven, probably when he arrived at Hogwarts, a block was placed on his magic, restricting Harry to only sixty percent of his core."

"WHAT?"

Remus pulled out the sheet he had gotten from Healer Sormot and gave it to Mr. Howe. As the solicitor read it, his eyes got larger and larger.

"Why would anyone do that to someone? I can understand the block placed by his father, if he was performing accidental magic, but now?"

"Harry was indeed performing accidental magic when he was only a few months old. Taking a toy from him was useless. He would summon it to him if he wanted. I was not there when James put the block on him, but he told me about it later."

Mr. Howe tapped his mouth with the tip of his quill before he went on. "James was so proud of having a son. He told me when we met just before they went into hiding that Harry was destined to be a special wizard. When I asked him if he wanted me to draw up wills for both of them he declined, telling me that he had one on file with the goblins, as he did not trust the Ministry not to conveniently forget or alter the one filed with them. You also mentioned theft."

"We found out from the Potter account manager, Griphook, that some 10,000 galleons have been removed from Harry's trust vault over the past ten years."

"How do you know it was Dumbledore?"

"Only one key was made for the Potter trust vault, which James had. When Hagrid picked up Harry for his first trip to Diagon Alley, he had the key. He gave it to Harry at that time. The only person who could have gotten the key from Godric's Hollow was Albus. The goblins traced the money to a muggle bank account in the name of Petunia and Vernon Dursley. This money was to be used for the support of Harry while he lived with them. This money was never used for Harry's benefit. The Potter will does specify a support allowance of 200 galleons per month for him. It was only for those specified in the will as a guardian. Since the Dursleys were specifically prohibited from gaining custody of Harry, no money should have been withdrawn for them. Plus, the support allowance was to have come from the main Potter vault, and not from Harry's trust vault."

"That may be a bit harder to prove, but it's definitely something to keep on the table. May I ask, Mr. Lupin, what authority you have in this matter?"

"According to their will, I have been appointed Steward for Harry."

"Why were you not one on the list to become Harry's guardian?"

"Because I am a werewolf."

Harry looked at Remus with wide eyes, "You're a werewolf!"

"Yes, Harry. I was bitten at an early age. Your father and Sirius were the first people to befriend me and accept me as a wizard. While I am indebted to Albus Dumbledore for allowing me to attend Hogwarts, I cannot stand by and see further miscarriages of justice occur."

"I think I know the answer as to why you are just now taking control of Mr. Potter's affairs."

"Yes. Again, Albus Dumbledore. I was out of the country when Harry's parents were killed. When I returned and discovered what had happened, I asked where Harry was. I had planned to continue being Uncle Moony to him. When I asked Albus where Harry was, he assured me that Harry was safe, and away from the former Death Eaters who would try to kill him for good, as well as the adoring public. I asked him many times, over the years, where Harry was, and whether I could see him, but Albus always claimed it was safer for Harry for no one to know. After hearing this multiple times, I stopped asking."

"You realize that pursuing the Chief Warlock will have its own perils. Who do you suggest I work with in the Wizengamot?"

"I don't know who is currently holding the Potter proxy; however, in their will, James and Lily named Augusta Longbottom as the proxy. I'm sure she will be delighted to assist you in any way she can. I do not know at this time how she plans to notify the Wizengemot of the change. I suspect it will be spectacular."

"If anyone can stand toe to toe with Albus Dumbledore, it would be Madam Longbottom."

Harry had been listening to everything quietly, trying to take in the legal mess and how it could be resolved. Finally, he spoke up.

"I hate to sound ignorant but could someone explain to me this Lord and Lady stuff? I thought only muggles did the royal title thing."

"Oh, cub, you have so much to learn. I'm sure this will be something Augusta will discuss with you during your training with her. Remember that before the Statute of Secrecy, wizards and muggles lived together. Wizards had the same royal titles as the muggles did. That carried over after the Statute of Secrecy was enacted. Although many of the old peerage lines have died out, there are still some that descend from these old lines. The Potter line descends from the Peverell line. The Blacks are another old line, as well as the Longbottoms. That is just a brief explanation. It will take some time to give you the full explanation."

"Thanks Remus. That helps. Is there a book or something about this?"

"I'm sure there is. There may be something in your parents' vault about the Potter family tree. We can check Flourish and Blotts on the way back to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Remus took a deep breath, "What do you know about the Sirius Black case?"

"Very little. Mostly what was published in the Daily Prophet. He was the secret keeper for the Potters and gave their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. When he was cornered by their best friend, he killed him and blew up the street, killing thirteen muggles."

"What if I told you that story was wrong?"

"I would be very surprised. They said he confessed to the murder."

"I assume his trial would have been spectacular."

"I thought it was one of the summary trials given to the other Death Eaters. There was little publicity about those."

"Are you sure there was a trial?"

"There had to be! He was sent to Azkaban for life."

"There was no trial. No questioning with Veritaserum. He was summarily sent to Azkaban to rot."

"You are aware that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"And you are just now learning this information I take it."

"You are correct."

"Which means you are in contact with Lord Black."

"Yes."

"Now I understand why you asked for my wizard's oath."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Represent him in a full trial before the Wizengamot, ensuring he is questioned with Veritaserum."

"Will I be able to meet Lord Black before I agree?"

"Of course."

"How do you propose to set up this meeting? The Ministry has a "Kiss on sight" warrant against him."

"Oh, I think we have a way. Mr. Howe, meet Lord Sirius Black." Remus turned and looked at Padfoot. With that, Sirius resumed his human form.

"Mr. Howe, thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"I take it no one knows you're an animagus?"

"Only four people and one of them is dead."

"I'm assuming one is James Potter."

"Correct."

"And the other three?"

"Remus and Harry here. And Peter Pettigrew."

"But Pettigrew is dead!"

"No, he isn't. Peter is also an animagus. His form is a rat. We became animagi in our fifth year at Hogwarts to keep Remus company during his transformation."

"Why do you say Pettigrew is alive?"

"I saw his picture on the front page of the Prophet."

"I would think I would have remembered seeing a dead man's picture on the front of the Prophet."

"Not in his human form but in his rat form. Do you remember an article about the Weasleys winning a lottery?"

"Yes. I was happy for Arthur and his family."

"On his youngest son's shoulder is a rat. That is Peter Pettigrew."

Howe's eyes narrowed in consideration, and Harry suddenly wondered what House he had been sorted into at Hogwarts.

"And how do you propose we out this rat?"

Remus took over. "Harry and I have an appointment with Amelia Bones tomorrow. We are going to be going over the same information I have given you regarding Harry. Then I will tell her what we know about Peter. I will also tell her I believe he is still alive, and that he is currently residing with the Weasleys. I will ask her to capture the Weasley's rat and put him in a magic-suppressing cage until he can be forced to transform in a Ministry holding cell. If she agrees to that, I am going to ask her if she would guarantee Sirius' safety if he turned himself into her. If she agrees, then I will have her and her Aurors arrest him in your office. "

Howe nodded. "This plan has merit, but I think we should refine it a bit."

With that, the three adults in the room began to plan the capture of Peter Pettigrew and exoneration of Sirius. After about forty-five minutes, they had a plan put together. With that done, Sirius returned to his Padfoot form, and he, Harry, and Remus headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, first stopping at Flourish and Blotts to get Harry a copy of _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_.


	8. And at Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I just brought them out to play.**

 **A/N: Just a little chapter to tease you with.**

8\. And at Hogwarts

Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, was in his office preparing for the start of a new term. He looked around his office at the various objects spinning and whirring. All was well.

He was pleased that he was able to secure the services of a qualified professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. His last two choices had been dreadful for different reasons. The one two years ago had been possessed by the spirit of Voldemort; last year's professor had been a total fraud. Remus Lupin was eminently qualified for the position. Only one little problem that had to be taken into consideration; Remus Lupin was a werewolf. He had already discussed this with Severus Snape so that the man could brew the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. Although they had been bitter rivals when they were in school, he hoped that they could put away past differences and could at least get along. One could only hope.

His other problem was Harry Potter. Harry would be a third year student this year. He was a kind and forgiving soul. Although he wasn't as healthy as Albus had hoped, nonetheless he was a bright child and had done moderately well during his first two years at the school. He had made fast friends with Ronald Weasley, a decidedly Light family, as well as the muggleborn Hermione Granger. The three made a formidable team. They had successfully navigated the challenge he had placed for Harry in their first year. Last year's experience with the Chamber of Secrets and Tom Riddle's diary were unplanned but Harry's actions definitely proved him to be the wizard he had hoped he would become. His Parseltongue abilities were definitely not expected, but perhaps they will come in handy at some point.

Placing Harry with his mother's sister and her husband had had the expected results he had desired: Harry was quiet, humble, reserved and utterly fascinated with all things magical. He knew if he had placed him with a wizarding family Harry would be a totally different person. Perhaps, because of his fame, he would have become like young Draco Malfoy, arrogant, conceited and vain. No, Harry needed to be malleable so that Albus could subtly lead him in the direction he needed to go. A strong, independent Harry would just not do.

Immediately after Harry had arrived at school he noticed that Harry's magic was stronger than it should have been. A discreet bind on his magical core solved that problem. Harry received average grades in all of his subjects. Well, with the exception of Potions which Severus took care of without prompting. The long-standing feud between Severus and James Potter had carried over to his son. Harry couldn't help that he looked so much like James but it did keep things nicely balanced out.

When Olivander let him know that Harry had gotten the brother wand to Voldemort it had just added another link in the chain. When Harry finally met his destiny, his wand would not decide the results. Voldemort's shear magical strength would be the overpowering factor.

The only wrench in his plans had happened Monday morning when both Severus and Minerva received an invitation from the goblins to the reading of the Potters' will. He was unaware there was a will on file with the goblins. He had ensured the will on file with the Ministry showed that Harry was to be placed with Lily's sister and her husband along with a modest support stipend. Prior to putting a stasis charm on the house in Godric's Hollow, Albus had done a quick search for anything of interest or value. Finding the key to the trust vault had solved the question of where the funds would come from.

Although Harry was at the Leaky Cauldron, there should be no way he could be notified of the reading since the owl redirect charm sent his mail to a closed off room at the castle. Perhaps he should have the elves sort through it and ensure no incriminating documents, such as letters from Gringotts, were still there. When Albus contacted the goblins to attend the reading he was firmly denied. Troubling, but not a major issue. With Peter dead and Sirius a wanted fugitive, there shouldn't be a problem. Remus being the only connection left to Harry's parents also should not be a problem. Remus was deeply in his debt since he allowed him to attend Hogwarts. Yes, this was working out quite well. Albus sat back and smiled until he was interrupted by a knock on his door.

Checking the charm on the door, he was surprised to see Minerva and Severus together. Those two rarely saw eye-to-eye, helping to foster the animosity between Gryffindor House and Slytherin House.

"Enter. Ah, Minerva, Severus. To what do I owe this visit? Would you care for a lemon drop?"

Minerva looked like she could spit nails, "Albus Dumbledore! What do you mean putting Harry Potter with those disgusting muggles and disregarding James' and Lily's wishes!"

"I don't know what you mean, Minerva? The Dursleys were the closest blood relatives Harry had. It was the best place for him due to the sacrifice of his mother."

Severus broke in, "If I had known you had put Potter with Petunia I think even I would have adopted him! You know how much Petunia hated Lily after she got her Hogwarts letter! I thought you had hidden him away with an appropriate wizarding family that had vowed not to reveal that Potter lived with them."

"Now Severus, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Granted he wasn't treated as well as I had hoped, but he has turned into a fine young man."

Minerva interrupted, "Albus, you told me Harry asked you before the end of his first year if he could stay over the summer. That doesn't sound like someone wanting to return to a loving family."

"I'm sure he was just overwhelmed with the magical world and wanted to spend a bit more time to get familiar with it. Now, were there any particular points from the will that I should be aware of?"

Little did Albus know that his two heads of house had discussed what to tell the Headmaster of the contents of the will. They agreed that the less he knew at this time, the better off Harry would be.

"Just the standard pureblood drivel," said Severus. "Who he wanted to fawn over the pampered prince. How his wealth should be distributed."

"I can understand Minerva being there as she was close to the Potters, but you, Severus, are the last person I would have expected to have been asked to attend."

"Lily had some research journals she thought I might be interested in."

"Ah. Well then, I think this issue has been settled. Thank you for the information."

The two professors left the room leaving the Headmaster to ponder the information presented by his two professors.


	9. The Ministry of Magic

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from it. Just borrowing them for a while.**

 **9\. The Ministry of Magic**

Thursday morning saw Harry and Remus heading to the Ministry of Magic. They used the floo in the Leaky Cauldron. This time Harry was very specific in his pronunciation to ensure he ended up at his intended destination. As he fell out of the fireplace, he coughed from the ashes that had gotten in his mouth and nose. Remus quickly followed and helped Harry up. He waved his wand over Harry and uttered a cleaning charm. They proceeded to the end of the Atrium to the security station. Harry was in awe of the fountain in the middle of the hall. After having their wands registered, they headed to a lift and made their way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The assistant directed them to chairs until she could confirm Director Bones was ready for them. Just as she finished, Director Bones came to the door of her office and ushered them inside.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, thank you for agreeing to see me today. I am sure you are both still processing the information we received Tuesday."

"Yes Ma'am. That was a lot to take in and please, call me Harry."

"I know you are both wondering why I asked you here so I'll get down to business. The first bit of surprising information was that Peter Pettigrew was the Potter's Secret Keeper. I must say that I was surprised when Sirius Black was arrested for their murders and the murder of Peter Pettigrew. I worked with him in the Auror's Office just as I did your father, Harry. I thought he was a solid citizen in the community and definitely different from the rest of the Black family. He was dedicated in his pursuit of Death Eaters. I suspect your father made a point of putting that information in his will about the Secret Keeper just in case something happened. I wish there was something more I could do to help you in this regard. One of the reasons I wanted to talk with you is that I know everyone on the list of guardians that James and Lily indicated and I know you were not placed with any of those families. After I came back I did a quick check of your file in Wizarding Family Services to see who your actual guardian was. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that WFS had no file on you. Can you tell me why?"

"I don't know why there isn't a record, Ma'am. You'd have to ask Professor Dumbledore."

"What does Albus have to do with this? I thought your parents' will was very specific that he was to have no say in your upbringing."

"Well, he did."

"I'm afraid to ask just who you have been living with."

"I've been living with my aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley."

"Oh my! Were you aware of this Mr. Lupin?"

"Please, call me Remus. I was also unaware of Harry's placement. I asked Albus several times to tell me where Harry was so that I could visit or at least correspond with him. Each time I was told that he was safe and being well taken care of. The first time I saw Harry was at the reading on Tuesday."

"Does anyone know if you have a guardian of any kind?"

"Before the reading, my account manager, Griphook, told me that Professor Dumbledore had contacted him about attending the reading since he was my magical guardian. He checked their records as well as the ministry's and found no such record so he denied the Headmaster's request."

"Do you know if there is any records in the muggle world?"

"I don't know. I know that my aunt and uncle always signed anything I needed for school."

"Were you ever visited by a social worker?"

"The only time I know of someone coming to the house was after one of my teachers made a complaint about the bruises I had. The social worker was a sister of one of the neighbors so that stopped the complaint from going any further."

"Oh dear. I do not like where this is going. Bruises?"

Remus and Sirius had prepared him for some of the questions he might be asked; Harry wasn't happy about it, but he knew he needed to be honest with the Director if they were to achieve their ultimate goal.

"Yes ma'am. Dudley, my cousin, liked to use me as his punching bag. After I got a bit older I learned how to avoid him as much as possible."

"Madam Bones, I have a copy of the medical report that the goblins performed on Harry yesterday. I believe it may help answer some of your questions about Harry's so-called guardians." He then passed over the report from the goblins.

"If you'd like me to call you Remus then you must call me Amelia. I remember you from Hogwarts. I was three years ahead of you and yes, I am aware of your condition."Amelia pulled her monocle up to her eye and started reading. As she read further down the page her lips seem to get thinner and thinner. "A basilisk! How in the world did you come in contact with a basilisk? No, wait, we'll get back to the basilisk in a moment. This is reprehensible! Treating a wizard child in this fashion! Did they also starve their son?"

"No Ma'am, in fact Dudley is about four times as big as me and he's only a month older than I am."

"I know this is difficult for you, but could you tell me a bit more about your time there?"

Harry swallowed hard, "I'll try to. Until I got my Hogwarts letter my bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs." Remus reached a hand over and settled it on Harry's shoulder.

"And after you got your letter?"

"They gave me Dudley's second bedroom."

"Second bedroom?"

"It's the room he put all of his toys in when he was tired of playing with them or he had broken them."

"Were there any other bedrooms available?"

"Well, there's the guest room but the only time it was used was when Uncle Vernon's sister Marge would visit."

"Is this the Marge that the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad had to deflate?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"What about the malnutrition the report mentions?"

"Their favorite punishment was to lock me in my cupboard and not feed me until they decided I'd learned my lesson."

"How often did that happen?"

"It depended."

"Once a month, once a week?"

"Well, it depended on what happened. I'd say several times a month."

"And how long did they withhold food?"

"It could be several days."

"And how has it been since you left for Hogwarts?"

"Not much different."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Well, last summer, I found a house elf in my room. When I wouldn't promise it to not go back to Hogwarts, he levitated the pudding Aunt Petunia had made for some guests of Uncle Vernon and dropped it on Mrs. Mason's head. My uncle had someone put bars over my window and they put multiple locks on the door and a cat flap at the bottom of the door."

"And you don't have a cat, do you?"

"No Ma'am."

"What was the purpose of the cat flap?"

"That's how I got the meals they did give me."

"How often were you fed?"

"I'd get something each day. Usually a can of soup."

"You just had one can of soup?"

"Yes Ma'am. But I shared it with my owl. They wouldn't let her go out and hunt so I had to feed her somehow."

"And the numerous broken bones?"

"Those were from Dudley and his friends. Their favorite sport was 'Harry Hunting.'"

"And when they caught you?"

"I would be their punching bag."

"I think I have more than enough information on the Dursleys to file charges against them. We have a liaison with the muggles."

"I think you're wasting your time."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Professor Dumbledore will just make it go away and I'll have to go back there next summer."

"I assure you that Albus Dumbledore has no influence in the DMLE. Your parents named several very qualified people to become your guardian. I'm sure you would rather be with a magical family. The Tonks would be especially fitting for you with your magical and muggle background. Their daughter Dora works for me as an Auror trainee. The least we can do for you is to ensure your continued growth and happiness."

"I appreciate that."

"Now tell me about this basilisk."

"Have you ever heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It's just a myth. It comes up regularly along with the so-called Slytherin monster. The castle has been searched many times by very qualified people and no evidence has ever been found. Does this have anything to do with Susan writing me about students being petrified?"

"It does. And the Chamber of Secrets is no myth. I've been in it. It's a bit of a long story."

"I have all the time you need, Harry."

So Harry launched into the tale of the Chamber of Secrets. Although he wanted to leave out the part about him being a Parselmouth, it was relevant to the story. When he finished, Director Bones was very pale and Remus wasn't much better even though he had heard the abridged version already.

"I believe we need some tea after that." She had her assistant bring in a service.

After they had all served themselves and taken a few minutes to collect themselves Amelia continued, "There's the corpse of a 70 foot basilisk in the bowels of Hogwarts?"

"Yes Ma'am. Nobody but me can get in there unless you know someone else who can speak to snakes."

"No, you're the first one. Have you talked to the goblins about harvesting the basilisk? Those parts are worth a fortune. I bet Severus Snape would give his hooked nose to have some of the venom." Both Harry and Remus laughed at that.

"I'll talk with Griphook the next time I see him. He is aware of the story but didn't mention harvesting it."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Harry looked at Remus so that he knew it was his turn."

"Amelia, there is another matter we would like for you to investigate for us."

"Please go on."

"We believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive."

"How is that possible! There were numerous witnesses who saw him die. The only thing found after Black blasted the road was his little finger."

"That was all Peter wanted you to find."

"I take it you know something more."

"Peter Pettigrew is an unregistered animagus. His form is a rat. I was just made aware of the possibility in the last few days."

"What alerted you to this?"

"This picture in the _Daily Prophet_." Remus handed the clipping to her.

"Oh yes, Arthur and his family winning the Prophet lottery. But how does this prove that Pettigrew … Oh dear."

"That rat has been living in my dormitory for the past two years. Ron says it's been in his family for quite a long time. He's also missing a toe."

"How can you be sure it's Pettigrew?"

"How long does a normal rat live, even a magical one?" asked Remus.

"I see what you mean. And I take it you have a plan."

"I believe we do. I have to return to Hogwarts on August 28 to prepare for classes as well as the full moon on the 31st. I have been appointed the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year."

"Good. They need a decent teacher. The last two, according to Susan, were worthless."

"You don't know the half of it," groaned Harry.

"I'm afraid to ask. Apparently there's a lot more to the story than what Susan has told me."

"Yes Ma'am, but we can save that for a later time."

Remus continued, "I propose that we invite the Weasleys to come up to the Leaky Cauldron on the 27th and stay for the last few days before they return to Hogwarts. I know they wouldn't normally do it so we need to come up with a reason such as an additional prize for winning the lottery. We are prepared to fund their stay from the Potter vault."

"I believe that would work. Then what?"

"Harry is going to tell Ron that he thinks his rat is looking rather peaky and he thinks he should take it by Magical Menagerie and get someone to take a look at it. It would require someone to be available during that time."

"If Ron and his family come in the morning then I can have him go there that afternoon. At the latest Saturday morning," added Harry.

"I'm intrigued. Continue."

"Once you have the rat in custody, your person would bring it back here to a holding cell that's warded against animagi. Have them cast the revealing spell and you should have your answer," said Remus.

"I suppose you would like to be present for the revealing," said Amelia.

"Of course. I believe Arthur should as well since the rat has been living under his roof all this time."

"Ron's not going to be happy about losing his rat, but he's never liked it to begin with," said Harry.

"I'm sure we can make it up to him with another pet. That's the least we can do for capturing a traitor," Remus volunteered.

Amelia asked, "You're not afraid that Sirius Black will discover this and try to kill the rat himself?"

"Actually, I think once it is revealed that you have Peter in custody and are willing to grant him safe passage Sirius will turn himself in. He's only wanted to avenge James' and Lilly's deaths. I will send out the invitation either tonight or tomorrow to the Weasleys and make reservations for them with Tom."

"We probably need to have Hermione come about the same time then she can share a room with Ginny and get her books at the same time." Said Harry.

"I think that would help as well. Very good, Harry. We'll make a Marauder out of you yet," smiled Remus

After finishing the last details of the plan, Harry and Remus headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to let Sirius know the latest news.


	10. Setting the Trap

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters; I'm just playing around.**

 **A/N: Since this is a short chapter, I'll make it a Two-For-Tuesday**

10\. Setting the Trap

After returning to the Leaky Cauldron and having a late lunch the three sat in Harry's room finalizing the plan.

"You know Moony, the Potters were major shareholders in several businesses in Diagon Alley. Do you have a list of those, Remus?"

"Not yet. Griphook was preparing me a list of all of the Potter holdings. Hopefully I will receive it within the next day or so, why?"

"Well, we may just have to make up a company or something. What about this?

 _Dear Arthur Weasley,_

 _We at Starlight, Limited, were taken by the story of you and your family's visit to Egypt to spend time with your eldest son after winning the Daily Prophet lottery. We would like to reward you with a six-day, five night all expenses paid visit to London. We have reserved four rooms for you and your family at the Leaky Cauldron beginning August 27 through September 1. Meal vouchers will be provided for you in your welcome package to several restaurants within Diagon Alley during your stay. Additionally, we will provide limousine service for your family to Kings Cross Station on September 1. I hope you and your family will enjoy spending the final few days of the summer holiday in relaxing style._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Canopus Vega_

 _President"_

"Sirius, that is brilliant!" Harry gushed.

"Yes, but do you think they will buy it?"

"I hope so. I don't know too many other ways to get them here."

Remus commented, "You mean telling Molly that you are wandering around Diagon Alley unsupervised wouldn't get her here?"

"I'd be taken back to the Burrow in no time. Not that I don't like it there. It's a great house! It was the first magical house I'd ever seen."

"Well, Moony, you're the one with all of the parchment charm knowledge so I'll leave it to you to make it pretty."

"Oh! We'll need to take it to the post office to send. They'd recognize Hedwig right away."

"Very good point, Harry," said Remus.

Remus took some time to get the invitation set just right. When he was done both Harry and Sirius complemented the finished product. Sirius turned back into Padfoot and they headed off to the owl office to send it out. Tired of the Leaky Cauldron, they tried a restaurant off the main alley that served Italian food. They ordered a steak dish for Padfoot along with his usual bowl of water. After eating their fill, they headed back to the Cauldron for the night."

"Harry, since we have nothing on the schedule for tomorrow, I'd like for you to tell us, in complete detail, about your first two years at Hogwarts."

"Is there something I should know about, Moony?"

"I believe there is a lot both of us should know about. Just knowing about the basilisk is enough to turn both of us gray. From what I've heard in bits and pieces I believe there is a lot more we need to know about. I have a feeling there's a master puppeteer involved."

Sirius groaned, "Yeah pup, the whole sordid story. From the time you got on the Hogwarts Express until meeting up with me when you left the muggles."

"There had better be plenty of butterbeer for me. I'm not sure how many bottles of firewhiskey you two will need."

Remus departed and Harry got ready for bed. When he came out of the bathroom Sirius asked him, "Is that your normal sleepwear?"

Harry looked down at the three-sizes too large T-shirt and sweatpants he had on, "Uh, yeah."

"Hand-me downs from Dudley, I suppose?"

"Yes."

"Harry, you have plenty of money in your vault. Why haven't you bought yourself some clothes that actually fit?"

"If I came back to the Dursleys in clothes that looked new and actually fit they'd wonder where the money for it came from. If they knew about my vault they would try to figure out a way to raid it."

"Very good logic. Are you sure you're not a Slytherin?"

"The Sorting Hat wanted to put me there but I talked it out of it and it put me in Gryffindor."

"You talked the Hat out of putting you in Slytherin? This is one of those stories I can't wait to hear! I assume it will be part of the story you'll be telling tomorrow."

"Yes. It's easier for me to tell the story just once to you and Remus."

"I want Remus to take you get some new clothes. Both wizard and muggle. You can change galleons into pounds at Gringotts. Remus is comfortable in the muggle world and will be able to help you there. And we need to make sure he gets some new robes as well. It won't do for him to arrive at Hogwarts looking like a wet wolf."

Harry laughed at that visual, "We've got another appointment tomorrow at Gringotts to talk to the cursebreakers and for them to remove the bindings and charms on me. You're going to have to come with us shopping. At least in Diagon Alley."

"It's the only way I can be sure you are properly attired for a wizard of your standing. Your everyday robes should have the Potter crest on the right breast. Once you become Head of the house, the crest goes on your left."

"There's a Potter crest?"

"Oh pup, we have so much to teach you. I'm going to bite Albus Dumbledore when I see him again!"

"Sirius, are you sure you don't want the bed? I can sleep on the chair or on the floor. I'm used to it."

"Absolutely not! But If you don't mind sleeping with a dog I'd be happy to share your bed. "

"Of course!"


	11. Breaking the Bonds

**11\. Breaking the Bonds**

The next morning after breakfast Remus and Harry set off for Gringotts while Padfoot went back for another nap in Harry's room. Traffic in the Alley was picking up since it was getting closer for the students to return to Hogwarts. Harry recognized a couple of his schoolmates but didn't stop to talk to them. He would have time for that later.

Marspok met them and took them back to the Healer's office. Healer Sormot greeted them and led them into a different room. Already assembled were three goblins and one wizard.

"These are Gorpog, our Senior Cursebreaker; Tunwel, our Dark Arts specialist; Baflok, a ward expert; and David Reed, our wizard magic expert. They will be the ones working with you today. I will stay as the medical representative. May I present Harry Potter and Remus Lupin."

"Thank you. What are you going to do to me?"

Gorpog spoke for the group, "The first thing we want to do is study the nature of the scar's curse to determine what process we might use to counter it. The magical bind is a relatively easy thing to release, however, your magic may be unstable until you get accustomed to the new amount of power. The charms placed on you are very simple to release, even if made by a powerful wizard such as Dumbledore."

"OK. What do you need me to do?"

"First, we'd like to just run several curse detection spells on you. You should feel nothing. If you do, please let us know immediately as it could be relevant to the nature of the curse. In order to avoid conflicting spells, we will each do ours separately. It will take a bit longer, but I believe the results will be more accurate. Just sit where you are, but try to avoid any unnecessary movement. You may talk if you wish."

Harry and Remus kept the conversation light just to take Harry's mind off of the current process. The goblin chanted in Gobbledygook while moving his hands around Harry. He then turned to Tunwel and told him he could begin his analysis. After about five minutes, Harry grabbed at his scar and cried out in pain. It took him a few minutes to calm down. Healer Sormot offered him a glass of water.

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"It was a specific spell to detect a class of dark curses known to be used to prolong one's life. Have you ever had this type of pain before?"

"Yeah, both in my first and second years at Hogwarts."

"Please explain the circumstances."

"In my first year, we had a Defense professor who had Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."

Remus exclaimed, "HE WHAT?"

"Yeah, he was being possessed by Voldemort. We didn't know until right at the end of the year that it was Voldemort, but every time the professor looked at me, my scar hurt. It wasn't bad, more like an electric tingle. Then when he grabbed me, my scar felt like it was going to explode."

"And what happened to this professor?"

"He died."

"And to Voldemort?"

"I don't exactly know. You'd have to ask Professor Dumbledore. I'd already passed out by then."

Healer Sormot asked, "How long were you unconscious?"

"About three days."

"Did they tell you the reason for this?"

"I think Madam Pomfrey said something about magical exhaustion."

"And the second time?"

"There was a cursed diary. It possessed one of the students and she later was taken down into the Chamber of Secrets. I went down to rescue her. There was an ghost or something like that of Tom Riddle, who I learned was the younger Voldemort. He was draining Ginny's life force to try and bring himself back to life."

Remus queried, "Ginny?"

"Ginny Weasley. Ron's sister."

"Ah. Thank you."

"And then what happened?"

"Well, he set his snake chasing me around the Chamber. I finally was able to kill it with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor."

Healer Sormot asked, "I take it this snake was the basilisk that bit you."

"Yes. After that, Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's Phoenix, cried on the wound and healed it. Then I took the fang that had been in my arm and stabbed the diary. There was black ink oozing out of it sort of like blood. When the image of Tom started to break up, I stabbed it again and he disappeared."

Tunwel then asked, "I would like to run that specific spell again, but this time I would ask Healer Sormot to set up a monitoring charm so that we can see what parts of the body it is affecting."

Healer Sormot waved his hand and spoke something in Gobbledygook. A sheet of numbers appeared in the air near him along with an outline of a body. "I should have done that at the beginning. I'd like to take a minute for the numbers to stabilize before recasting the spell." Harry just sat there and waited until he saw Healer Sormot nod at Tunwel.

"I am going to continue casting my spells but in a different order so you do not anticipate them. Just continue to breathe normally."

Again Tunwel began chanting in Gobbledygook. Harry tried to relax but he was still anxious about the spell that had caused him so much pain. After the five minute mark had passed, his anxiety released some and he was breathing more normally. Then all of a sudden his scar again burst in pain. While Remus helped Harry, the others in the room looked at the display of information. When he had composed himself, he asked, "What does that mean?"

"I would like to let the others complete their scans before I pose my theory."

"OK."

This time Baflok rose to begin his scan, "I doubt there will be anything in my field involved but it is a good thing to check to be sure." He waved his hand and also began to chant. Although initially anxious, Harry soon relaxed. Once he was done, it was Mr. Reed's turn.

"Harry, all I'm going to do initially is to just confirm the block and the spells on you that Healer Sormot reported. You shouldn't feel anything. This shouldn't take very long. I would ask that you don't move." He waved his wand over Harry in several complicated motions. After a couple of minutes he was done.

"Nothing new. The block will be the hardest to remove, but it still should be relatively simple for us. Goblin magic is different from wizard magic and they have several ways to remove the blocks without anyone noticing. The same with the charms. They should be very easy to release as well."

Healer Sormot then spoke, "We have prepared a light lunch for you in another room. Please take your time" and moved to show them out.

Harry was on to this trick, "In other words, you want to talk about me."

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

They moved to the room with the lunch service. Beside Harry's plate was a vial. "That, Mr. Potter, is a nutritive potion for you to begin taking. It will help repair the damage done by your relatives. When you leave today I will provide you with enough to cover you until you get to Hogwarts. I believe Mr. Lupin stated he would talk with the Potions Master about brewing it for you when you return."

"Yes, I haven't spoken to Severus yet, I was going to wait until I got to Hogwarts on the 27th, but I will contact him before I leave as there will be several things going on at that time which may interrupt my original plan."

"I will leave you to your meal."

Harry ate in silence. He hoped Remus wouldn't ask him questions about the information about Voldemort. He couldn't get that lucky.

"Harry, you know you are going to have to tell Sirius about your encounters."

"Yeah, he's already set aside time this weekend for the Hogwarts Highlights. But," he smirked, "that will be after you take me shopping for new clothes."

"Merlin help me, just what I need. Taking a teenage boy shopping for clothes. Maybe I can contact Andromeda and see if she and Nymphadora will take you."

"Who's Nymphadora?"

"Her daughter, although if you call her that she just may hex you. She prefers to go by Tonks but she will answer to Dora."

"I'd rather have you. I don't want to be caught clothes shopping with a bunch of women! Oh, and before we leave here can we convert some gold into pounds? He also wants me to get some muggle clothes that actually fit."

"That should not be a problem."

They finished their lunch in silence. "Are you ready for the next phase?"

"Sure, let's get it over."

They returned to the room they had been in to see the group still involved in a spirited discussion.

Tunwel spoke first, "Since my scan is the only one to detect anything I have been asked to lead the efforts of the group going further. It appears that your scar is connected to Voldemort in some fashion as you have already worked out. The how is the question we have to answer. Both incidents you detailed involved coming in contact with some fragment of Voldemort's soul. What is intriguing is that while the basilisk venom killed the fragment of soul in the diary, it had no effect on your scar. It may be the phoenix tears got into your system before the venom could make it through and into the area of the scar. That, in itself, could provide us many years of study. Your Department of Mysteries would never let you go if they discovered this. The first question we have to answer is whether the fragment in you …"

"Wait, did I hear you right? I have a piece of Voldemort's soul in me?"

"Apparently so, Mr. Potter. I realize you are young, but have you heard of the term 'horcrux'?"

Remus shouted, "Horcrux? Is that what this is?"

"We believe so."

"Why me? Why can't I be just a normal teenager?"

Remus laughed, "Probably never. Please continue Tunwel."

"As I was saying, the question we have to answer is whether the fragment is parasitic or symbiotic. If it is parasitic then removing it could cause major damage to you. If it is symbiotic it should be possible to remove it without it affecting you."

"So my scar is the reason I can speak to snakes?"

"It may be or it may be that you inherited that ability from a distant branch of your family."

"So how do I know which type it is?"

"That is something we are going to have to examine further before determining how to proceed. We have been able to remove these from non-living things relatively easy, but have not had the cause to try to remove one from a living being. Many of the pyramids in Egypt have had these buried in their tombs. We were not aware that basilisk venom would kill one. We do not have access to any to test."

"I do."

"How large is the one you killed in the Chamber?"

"About 70 feet long."

"Is it still there? Did no one from Hogwarts start salvaging it? I would think your Potions Master would be eager to make use of it."

"Nobody else can get into the Chamber. It requires Parseltongue to enter."

"Very interesting. So this is the famed Chamber of Secrets of Salazar Slytherin that has always been thought of to be a myth."

"Yes."

"I believe you should speak to Griphook about a contract to harvest the beast. There are many uses for a basilisk. Its skin can make armor similar to dragonhide. The venom has uses in potions and, as you discovered, horcruxes. It has been a long time since one has become available to study."

"What about a shed skin? There's at least one down there. Doesn't it belong to Hogwarts?"

"It is unknown about a shed skin. That would be something to investigate. The one who conquers a beast such as that has rights to its disposal."

"Wicked! I bet Dumbledore won't like that at all."

"Now, we would like to do a few other scans to help us to determine the nature of this horcrux. It may be painful, but they should be quick. If you would like to lie down, we can go into the treatment room you used the other day. You will be much more comfortable and you will need to be in there for the spell removal and binding removal."

"Sure."

The group exited that room and headed into the treatment room. Although Harry wasn't looking forward to any more pain, at least he had a cloud to lie on to make him more comfortable. He again removed his shoes and got up on the bed. It was easy to relax into the softness.

"Now Mr. Potter, if you would just relax as much as you can. Unfortunately we cannot sedate you as we will need to ask you questions as we examine this further. Please let us know if you feel anything, regardless of how insignificant you believe it is. Healer Sormot, if you could resume the monitoring."

Harry heard the goblin speak in Gobbledygook quickly and then moved away from the bed. This time Gorpog was the one to begin the scan. Initially, Harry didn't feel anything, then he started feeling like someone was beating on his feet with a hammer.

"Feet. Someone's hitting them with a hammer."

"Very good. Did you feel it anywhere else?"

"No, just my feet."

A few minutes later he had a metallic taste in his mouth. "Yuk!"

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"My mouth tastes like I just ate a roll of tin foil."

"Good."

The next thing he experienced were lots of flashing lights in his eyes.

"Hmmm, a fireworks show."

"Your eyes, I take it."

"Yeah. It almost makes me want to sick up."

It was the next test that got a major response. His head began to pulse and he felt it all throughout his body. "Owww!"

"And this time?"

"My head is trying to beat its way out of my skull and it's going all through my body like a pulse." The feeling stopped just as quickly as it started.

"I think we have the information we need for now. You are available through the end of next week, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"We will be in touch, hopefully, once we have had a chance to study this further. We will send an owl in care of Mr. Lupin to ensure its delivery. Plus, I believe for the moment, we want to minimize the number of Gringotts owls being sent to you."

"Yeah, thanks! We don't want Dumbledore catching on that we're playing with his favorite pet Savior of the Wizarding World."

"Good day, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin."

With that, the three goblins left and Mr. Reed and Healer Sormot remained.

This time Mr. Reed spoke, "OK Harry. Do you mind if I call you Harry?"

"No, otherwise I feel like an old man, or else I'm back in school."

"This will be the easy part of the day. I've already examined the three spells on you and they are very simple to remove. While Albus thinks he's such a great wizard, he was actually a bit sloppy with these charms. I guess he never expected them to be detected. I propose we only remove the mail redirect and the one against the Dursleys. That won't be as noticeable. He probably won't realize that unless he notices he's no longer getting your Gringotts statements. If we remove all of them completely it would probably send some sort of alert to him and he'd know immediately they were removed so what we're going to do is transfer it to something else. Removing the one against the Dursleys shouldn't give any alert. It's the tracking charm that's going to give us the most trouble. We have two choices. We can move it to an animate object such as an owl or another animal or we can move it to an inanimate object such as a can. Whatever we use, it should be something you would take with you to Hogwarts. Once you get there I recommend frequent scans in case he tries to put it back on you again. I'm afraid once he notices one is gone he'll look for the others. Then your ruse will be up. You should have some sort of plan before you get there."

"I will continue checking him for the spells at Hogwarts. I will be one of the professors there this year."

"Great. Any idea where you would like to transfer the tracking charm?"

"Well, putting it on owl would be wicked. He'd be all over the place looking for me. But probably putting it on something inanimate would be better."

Remus got a glint in his eye, "Why don't we put it on an inanimate object, then once you get to Hogwarts, attach it to Hedwig and send her on a flight. Perhaps dropping it at the Dursleys? Or maybe send her to Amelia Bones at the Ministry."

"Brilliant! What about putting it on a collar and let Padfoot wear it?"

"That is even better, Harry!"

"But he doesn't have a collar. And he wasn't too thrilled about it when I tried to buy one for him."

"For this, I think he will be just fine wearing it for a little while." Remus took a piece of parchment and transfigured it into a collar with shiny metal studs.

"OK, now that you've solved that problem, why don't we get started. This should only take a few minutes and there's no pain involved."

Harry closed his eyes and relaxed into the cloud-bed. He thought he should really find something like this some day when he had his own place. After a few minutes it was done.

"OK, all done. Now, Healer Sormot is going to remove the block on your magic. The goblins have a better way to do it than we do. You shouldn't feel anything however you will notice that you will need to temper your spell work until you get comfortable with it. You may also find that you have an easier time with classes. Blocks like this have also been known to affect your brain and how it processes information."

"Maybe I'll give Hermione a run for her money now."

Both men laughed at the teen. Healer Sormot began chanting again. Harry had a feeling of warmth somewhere deep inside him that started spreading all through him. It was like meeting a lost friend after many years. A smile crept over his face as the warmth continued to spread. Then it slowly dissipated. When it was gone, Harry felt a little empty.

"What just happened, Harry?" asked Remus.

"It was like someone turned the sun on. I got this warm feeling all through me. Sort of like finding a long lost friend. It was very nice."

Healer Sormot then spoke, "It is done, Mr. Potter. As Mr. Reed stated, you will need to practice tuning your magic until you are comfortable with this new power."

"Thank you both. I feel like I just swallowed a sunbeam."

"Now, let us address the fractures that have healed improperly. What I am about to do may cause you some pain, but it should be brief. If you will give me your left arm."

Harry did as he was instructed then closed his eyes as if expecting pain such as when they had examined his scar. When he realized all he was feeling was a comforting warmth throughout his arm and hand he visibly relaxed. After about ten minutes, Sormot said he had finished with that and was moving on to his ankle. Harry felt something shift, but there was still the feeling of warmth that offset the small amount of pain he was feeling. Finally the goblin moved to his ribs. Again the warmth spread through his chest. After a few more minutes, the goblin was done.

"You may feel a difference in your gait as you walk, Mr. Potter. You've been favoring that ankle for quite a while. Now that it is fully healed, you won't need to put as much weight on your other foot."

"Thank you, Healer Sormot," Harry said as he got up and put his shoes back on, giving his foot a little shake.

"If there is nothing further at this time, I will have Marspok show you out. I have your potions ready for the remainder of your time here. I also have a list of information for you, Mr. Lupin, to give to your Potions Master."

With that, they left the Infirmary and headed out. Mentioning to Marspok that they needed to exchange some galleons into pounds, Marspok led them to another office where a muggle credit card was prepared which was connected directly to his muggle account. Feeling totally exhausted, Harry was ready for a quiet evening and an early bedtime.


	12. A Hogwarts Tale

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its parts.**

 **A/N: This started out as two chapters but made more sense as one. Hope you like a nice long one.**

 **12\. A Hogwarts Tale**

After another night of easy sleep, Harry and Sirius prepared for the day. They were just finishing breakfast when Remus entered. Sirius suggested they make the shopping trip first to allow their room to be cleaned so they would not be interrupted later. Sirius reminded Remus to be sure to have the Potter crest added to Harry's robes. Harry made sure he had his Gringotts key and off they went.

Madam Malkin's was still as cluttered as it was the first time, but at least he didn't have to deal with Malfoy this time. Madam Malkin herself came out to greet them.

"I am Madam Malkin, how may I …. Oh my! Harry Potter. How may I help you Mr. Potter?"

Remus answered for him, "Harry needs a set of day robes. It appears he has outgrown the ones he has."

"And do you need new Hogwarts robes?" she inquired.

"I think the ones I have are fine," Harry said with an evil glare at Remus.

"The ones you had on Tuesday were several inches too short, Harry. Yes, he needs new Hogwarts uniforms as well." He heard a yip from Padfoot. "Oh, and can you please ensure the Potter crest is on his day robes?"

"What about dress robes?"

"Harry, I hesitate to ask if you have a set of dress robes?"

"No. What do I need them for?"

"Yes, he needs a set of dress robes as well. You never know when something will come up where your day robes are not sufficient for the occasion."

Padfoot gave a bark of approval. He also gave Harry a nudge.

"Oh and Remus also needs new robes," Harry said with a wink to Padfoot.

"No I do …" Remus stopped as he felt a soft bite on his bum, "Oh. Yes, I could use a few additional robes for Hogwarts as well."

Harry and Remus stood there doing imitations of a dress mannequin as a tape measure took their measurements. They tried several different colors before settling on gray, maroon and navy for Harry's day robes and a deep emerald green for his dress robes. The dress robes really accentuated Harry's eyes. They also bought him both summer and winter cloaks. Not knowing when they would get to muggle London, they bought a set of sleep pants and a package of t-shirts for Harry. Remus got robes in soft brown, tan, gold and a darker gray than Harry's. Their robes would be available tomorrow. As they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, Padfoot gently grabbed Remus' sleeve and steered them to Storage Solutions.

"But I have a perfectly good trunk!"

"I believe he wants you to get a multi-compartment trunk as well as have several charms placed on it. Is that correct, Padfoot? These are very useful to ensure your belongings are safe, especially your invisibility cloak."

Padfoot nodded his head and gave a quick bark. They entered the shop and began to look at the different models. While they were looking, the shopkeeper came out to greet them, "What can I help you with today? Young man need a trunk to take to Hogwarts?" Of course once the man got a look at his customers he began to stutter, "Mr. Potter! I am honored you have chosen my shop! Do you have a particular style you are looking for?"

Remus answered for him, "I believe we are looking for a three-compartment model." Stealing a look at Padfoot who was nodding his head. "One compartment for his clothes, a library compartment and one where he can store his potions equipment, telescope and other sundry items." Again Padfoot nodded.

"Let me show you this model. The clothes compartment has an area to hang your robes as well as shelves for shoes, shirts and pants. It comes with ten hangars which are charmed to respond to your voice. You just tell it 'Green Robe' or 'Winter Cloak' and it will bring the correct item to the front. You just have to tell it what to call the item when you put it on the hangar the first time and a label will appear on the neck."

"Wow! You can do that?" asked Harry.

"Yes, it's a very simple charm. Now, the Library compartment should help you keep your books in order. As you put a book in it the trunk creates a catalog of the titles. When you want a particular book you just tell it 'Charms, Grade 2' or 'Potions, Grade 3". It will catalog muggle books as well."

"I wonder if Hermione's seen these. She could really use something like this with all of the books she has!"

Remus said, "We could always pick one up for her and Ron."

"Now, Mr. Potter, what charms would you like me to add? It comes standard with a featherlight charm, cushioning charm as well as a security charm. I'll key you into it before you leave and show you how to add someone else into it if you want. I would warn you that the fewer people allowed access, the safer your belongings are. Do you also want the Potter crest on it?"

"Yes please."

Remus thought for a moment and said, "I think fire and water charms as well as a shrinking charm should do it." He stole a glance at Padfoot who agreed.

Once the trunk had been charmed and Harry was shown how to work each of them, Harry tapped the Potter crest with his wand and the trunk shrunk to a size where he could put it in his pocket. Before going back to the Leaky Cauldron he asked Padfoot if there was anywhere else he needed to go. With a shake of his head, they headed back to the pub.

While Harry and Padfoot headed upstairs to Harry's room, Remus went to talk to Tom about sending up lunch a bit later. He joined them with a tray of butterbeers. Sirius looked like a kid in the candy store after his first sip, "Oh how I've missed this!"

After all had taken a few minutes to get comfortable, Remus looked at Harry, "Now, we want to know all about your time at Hogwarts. From what I've heard so far, it hasn't been the quiet, idyllic time as we would hope it would be. And before you start at a convenient place for you, start before you got your Hogwarts letter. Sirius needs to know what you told Amelia yesterday."

About that time they heard a tap at the window. A shaggy owl staggered in. Harry, recognizing it was Errol, helped the owl over to Hedwig's perch and gave him a couple of owl treats.

Sirius asked, "I take it you know that owl."

"Yeah. This is Errol, the Weasley family owl. He's a bit past his prime, but he's determined to deliver his packages. When he brought Ron's birthday present I thought he was going to fly into the house and wake up the Dursleys."

Taking the letter back to his seat he opened it and read it aloud:

 _Hi Harry!_

 _Guess what? Dad won another prize! It's only to Diagon Alley, but it's for the last few days before we go back to school. Do you think the muggles will let you come and meet us there? We are coming the morning of the 27_ _th_ _(but it may be afternoon by the time we get our stuff together). They've even arranged to take us to Kings Cross on the first. Oh, while we're there, I need to take Scabbers to the Magical Menagerie. That trip to Egypt was rough on him. He's really starting to look bad. Still, he's old, so I'd think you'd be looking pretty ragged if you were that old. Have you heard from Hermione? Can you let her know about coming to the Leaky Cauldron? I'm sure she could share Ginny's room. We could all get our books together like we always do. Speaking of books, have you done your homework yet? I haven't but don't tell Hermione that. That's all we'll hear about the whole time we're there. Well, let me know if you can make it!_

 _Ron_

They all laughed at Ron's letter. Sirius was the first to regain his composure, "So, do you think you could go with him to the Magical Menagerie?"

"I think so. I wonder if my dog would like to go with me. He didn't seem to like it the last time I went there."

"As long as you don't threaten to put me on a leash. This collar is bad enough!" In his human form, the collar looked like a silver and black choker.

"Yeah, just imagine Dumbledore's expression when he realizes I'm at Hogwarts but his tracking charm is showing me in London."

"Oh to be a fly on that wall when he does. Remus, you'll have to tell me his reaction. And you'd best be checking him for charms regularly."

"Of course, Padfoot, however I doubt he will let me know he's lost track of Harry. I suspect he doesn't want anyone to know he's keeping tabs on him."

As they were getting back on track, another owl tapped at the window, this one bore the Gringotts crest and had a thick package on its leg. Harry let it in and it flew in front of Remus. He removed the package and Harry gave it an owl treat. The owl quickly flew out the window.

"Ah, I believe this should be the information on the Potter holdings," said Remus and started to open it."

"Wait," said Sirius, "if you open that now, we'll never hear about Harry's time at Hogwarts. He'll just find more excuses to delay. Methinks he has something to hide," eying the black-haired boy.

Harry groaned, "Can I at least write Hermione first?"

"Well, just Hermione, then we're going to hear everything about your first two years, and I mean EVERYTHING."

Harry took parchment and pen and scribbled a note to Hermione:

 _Hi Hermione!_

 _Guess what? Ron and his family won another prize! They've got an all expenses paid trip to London. They'll be staying at the Leaky Cauldron from the 27_ _th_ _until we leave for Hogwarts on the first. Ron wanted to know if you wanted to come as well. He said you could share a room with Ginny. I'm already there, so if you want to come sooner, that would be brilliant! The reason why I'm here is a long story and I'd rather wait and tell you and Ron at the same time. Also, I've met our new DADA professor. He's an old friend of my parents! He's been telling me stories about my parents. If your parents are worried about the two of us being here by ourselves you can let them know we'll have a professor to keep us out of trouble. I've told Hedwig to wait for a reply, so let me know as soon as possible._

 _Harry_

They all settled in for the long haul as Harry began his tales of Hogwarts starting with a brief description of his time with the Dursleys so that he could give Sirius more information than what he'd already said after he read the results of Harry's health report. By the time he got to where Hagrid broke down the door to the cabin on the rock, Tom was knocking on the door with lunch. Sirius quickly changed into Padfoot before they opened the door. Once everyone had their lunch, Harry resumed his tale. The first major conversation about his time at Hogwarts came when Harry told about his sorting.

"How long did it take the Hat to sort you?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know but it felt like forever. I had to talk it out of putting me in Slytherin."

"Slytherin! Why on earth would it think you belonged there?"

"It kept telling me I would be great and Slytherin would help me get there."

"So what made you ask to be sorted elsewhere," asked Remus?

"I met Malfoy. He told me he could help me figure out who the right sort of people to associate with were. Plus he had Crabbe and Goyle hanging around him. He reminded me too much of Dudley."

"Well, the only good thing that would have come from it would have been you giving Snivellus a heart attack from being put into his house!" chuckled Sirius.

When he got to the first flying lesson, Harry had to threaten Sirius with having Remus put silence and sticking charms on him. It didn't help when he told them about his first Quidditch match and his broom trying to knock him off. Both wanted to have a word with Professor McGonagall about sending four first years into the Forbidden Forest at midnight. By the time he finally finished recounting the tale of his encounter with Quirrellmort, both Sirius and Remus were pale.

Sirius spoke first, "He had Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head? How could Albus let that 'thing' in the castle, much less have him teaching kids? The wards should have definitely picked up on it!"

"Based on what I've learned so far, I suspect it was planned by Albus," replied Remus.

"You mean he WANTED Harry to go after the stone and confront that thing AGAIN? I'm going to kill that man when I see him again!"

"Now Padfoot, calm down. Harry is here and safe, so it must not have done any permanent damage. Did Madam Pomfrey tell you why you were unconscious for three days, Harry?"

"I think it had something to do with magical exhaustion. I just know that I missed the final Quidditch game and we lost. Oliver was really bummed about it."

"Your health is much more important than a Quidditch game, young man," scolded Sirius.

"Would you like to start second year or would you like to take an early dinner, Padfoot?" asked Remus.

"Well, how long will it take to get from leaving Hogwarts to returning?"

"Ummmm, I think we can do that before dinner," replied Harry.

"That doesn't sound too promising."

So, Harry began his summer before second year. It went fairly quickly until he got to the point about the dinner party.

"Why do I get the feeling something is going to happen to disrupt this party?" commented Sirius.

"Because it's Harry and nothing goes according to plan" replied Remus.

Naturally, when Harry got to the part where Dobby appeared, everyone groaned.

"What is a house elf doing in a muggle house?" asked Sirius.

"That is definitely strange behavior for a house elf," added Remus.

"You're just going to have to be patient. All will be explained," said Harry mysteriously.

As Harry continued his tale, each man became more and more outraged at the actions of the Dursleys. However, when he told of the Weasleys escape plan, they were both delighted. Sirius was the first to exclaim, "They are definitely worthy of the title of Marauders! I can't wait to meet them!"

"You really will like them!"

When Harry got to the part of leaving the Burrow for Kings Cross Station, he told them that was a good place to stop for dinner.

"Don't tell me you had problems just getting on the train!"

"Sirius, if you don't settle down I will have Remus silence you. Or else you're going to have to listen as Padfoot."

Putting his hands up in surrender, Sirius said, "OK. I give up!"

Sirius changed into his Padfoot form and escorted them downstairs for dinner. Tom had gotten quite comfortable with the trio, especially Padfoot, and brought their meals to them. He had quickly learned Harry's favorite pudding was treacle tart so he had a large piece set aside for him. Gathering a few more butterbeers, they headed back to Harry's room to resume the story of Harry's second year at Hogwarts.

Both adult wizards were duly impressed with Arthur's charms on the car allowing it to hold everyone's luggage as well as the ability to fly, even if they didn't fly it to Kings Cross. However, as soon as Harry mentioned not being able to get through the barrier, they could see where this was headed.

"Please tell me you did not take the car!" exclaimed Sirius.

"We took the car. Now hush!"

Harry continued on through the tale getting appropriate responses from his audience. His ability to speak Parseltongue got concerned looks, but neither wizard said anything. Finally Harry made it to Christmas. It had gotten late, so Harry suggested they stop for the evening.

"Fine, but we're picking this up right after breakfast!" said Sirius.

"Remus and I need to go back to Madam Malkin's to pick up our robes."

"We can do that at lunch. Maybe go somewhere different."

"Florean Fortescue's?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Only if you promise me you'll eat some healthier food before you have ice cream!"

"Of course!"

Remus bid them good night and headed back to his home. He was looking forward to moving into the flat in London. Perhaps he could take care of that before leaving for Hogwarts on the 28th. He should check it out first to make sure it was in suitable repair before moving. It hadn't been lived in since Sirius' capture.

Harry and Sirius took care of their nightly ablutions before settling down for the night. This time, before turning back into Padfoot, Sirius reached out to Harry for a hug, "I'm glad I finally got to be back with you pup. Once I'm cleared, we'll be a proper family. You'll never have to go back to those muggles again."

Harry still wasn't used to someone hugging him, other than Mrs. Weasley's smothering hugs or Hermione's overzealous ones, but he slowly relaxed into the one from Sirius. It was something he was looking forward to getting used to.

Sunday morning was another good day, although there was the possibility of rain later in the day. Just as they were finishing breakfast, Remus arrived. He accepted a glass of pumpkin juice from Tom and they went back upstairs. They noticed Errol had revived so Harry tied the quick message he'd penned for Ron to the owl's leg and sent him on his way.

"So, you're hearing voices nobody else can hear and you've been illegally brewing polyjuice potion in an almost abandoned girl's loo with ingredients stolen from Snape's stores. How do you propose to get what you need and sneak into the Slytherin common room?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, Hermione had that all figured out."

Harry continued with his story. By the time Harry got to the point where they had returned to the bathroom and saw Hermione's state, the two adults were laughing hard.

Remus was first to speak up, "Hermione really is the smartest witch of her age. I look forward to meeting her and having her in my class."

"What I want to know is how she managed to get defurred! I bet Minerva was livid!" said Sirius.

"Madam Pomfrey didn't ask any deep questions. I think she told Professor McGonagall that Hermione had experimented with a spell and had done it incorrectly. Anyway, she didn't ask us any questions."

Harry continued his story but was stopped again when he got to the diary. They were not happy at all about him picking it up from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry gave them both the 'I'll stop talking if you keep this up' look and continued his story. They both were laughing so hard they were holding their sides when Harry talked about Valentine's Day and the singing cards.

Both men were looking forward to hearing about the next Quidditch match, hoping that Lockhart did not figure into it this time. When Harry told them the team was just about to go on the field when Professor McGonagall came in and told them the game was cancelled, Sirius imitated Oliver Wood by saying, "You can't cancel Quidditch!"

Harry laughed and said, "That's exactly what Oliver said. Then Professor McGonagall asked me to find Ron and go with her back to the castle."

"That can't be good," moaned Sirius.

Finding Hermione had been petrified shocked both men. Harry had to explain that she was not much of a Quidditch fan and it wasn't unusual for her to go to the library during a match. Then Harry told about Ron and him sneaking down to Hagrid's cabin to ask him about why he was expelled, neither man was happy with Harry risking his safety again. When he got to Fudge taking Hagrid to Azkaban, they were both incensed.

"Fudge has this thing about throwing people into Azkaban without a trial. I think that's something I will have to work on once I'm cleared. That's an abuse of power he should not have."

"Good luck with that," Harry said glumly.

Then he told them about Lucius Malfoy coming in and handing Dumbledore a letter suspending him.

"That is the last thing they needed to do! I hope Albus fought him about it," cried Sirius.

"He was back in a couple of days. So as Hagrid was leaving he told them to make sure somebody fed Fang and then said anyone wanting to find out anything all they had to do was follow the spiders."

Sirius paled, "Please tell me you didn't."

"Well, not then, but a little bit later."

"Harry James Potter! What am I going to do about you!"

"Save your yelling, Sirius, there's more to come."

It was about lunch time so Harry thought it would be a good time to stop before he told them about going into the Forbidden Forest. He wanted his sundae from Fortescue's and he suspected if he told them about the Forest first he'd never get pudding again. Sirius changed back into Padfoot and the three headed out into Diagon Alley. They stopped for lunch first so they didn't have to manage their packages while they ate. They ordered a serving of shepherd's pie for Padfoot which he thoroughly enjoyed. Florean himself brought their ice cream, including Harry's sundae. They walked down to Madam Malkin's then returned to the Leaky Cauldron. Hedwig was waiting for them when they got back.

Harry took the letter from her and gave her a couple of owl treats then she headed to her perch to rest. The letter was a foot long, but Harry read it quickly, "She said her parents are bringing her on the 26th. They have that day off from work and it is easier for them to do that. She says her parents were a lot happier when she told them there was a professor to watch us. She also wants to go to the Magical Menagerie! Her parents are finally letting her get a pet!"

"I think that will be a perfect day for you to go get some new muggle clothing, Harry. I suspect the Grangers will be happy to escort you and will probably know of better places nearby than either of us do. I'm sure Remus will be happy to escort you," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Sirius! No, anything but that!" pleaded Harry.

"Sirius has a good point, Harry. That would be a good opportunity to take care of that task and I suspect the Grangers haven't gotten a lot of information about the wizarding world based upon what you've said. You have appropriate robes to wear in the alley now, but your muggle clothing is atrocious."

With that settled for the time being, they got back to the story. Hearing about their trip into the Forbidden Forest had both men grabbing for Harry at the same time, "Never do that again! Promise me, pup!"

"I can't promise; you know how these things just keep happening to me."

Again the older wizards paled when they learned that Ginny Weasley had been taken into the Chamber.

"I hope you told an adult about your theory and had someone go with you," said Sirius.

When they found out the boys went to Lockhart and he was about to do a runner, they groaned again, "I meant a COMPETENT adult, Harry!"

The next part of the story was intense so Harry made them promise to hold everything until he was finished, "You already know I ran into a basilisk, so that's not a surprise, and Remus knows about the nature of the diary too, so please wait until I've finished to kill me."

It took another hour for him to finish the story of the events in the Chamber of Secrets. Both men were still awestruck even though they knew he had survived the basilisk bite.

"Not only did Fawkes come and help you but you pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat! What other tricks do you have up your sleeve, pup?" asked Sirius.

"Well, just one more, but I think you'll be pleasantly pleased with it."

"How long will this take?"

"Only about a half hour. It's pretty quick."

Harry resumed his tale and told about the meeting in Dumbledore's office and being interrupted by Lucius Malfoy and his elf.

"That crazy elf belongs to Malfoy? Oh, this is rich!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Settle down, Sirius. Just a little bit more."

When Harry completed his story, both wizards were laughing heartily at Harry's Slytherin side coming out and freeing Dobby from Malfoy's clutches.

"So where is Dobby now? It's hard for an elf to find work, and almost impossible for one who has been given clothes to find another family willing to bond with them. Finding a family that wants to bond with a disgraced elf and pay them for their services is unheard of," asked Remus.

"I don't know. I never thought about it. He was so happy to be free that I didn't think about that. The only thing I know about house elves is what I've learned from Dobby."

Remus entered teaching mode again, "Harry, house elves derive much of their magic from the wizard family they are bonded to. Although elfin magic is different from wizard, they get their power from the magical energy of the family they serve. In return the wizard gets a devoted elf to take care of their needs. Without that mutual support, the elf can die."

"Oh no! I didn't know that. Maybe he can go to Hogwarts. They do have house elves at Hogwarts, don't they?"

"Hogwarts has the largest staff of house elves anywhere. There are about a hundred elves there at any time," replied Remus.

"Harry, once I get cleared, I will probably need another elf at the Black property in London. The elf that was there, Kreacher, was terrible. If he is still alive he's probably crazier than Bellatrix Lestrange. I'm sure we'll be able to find a place for Dobby. We will also need to see how the elves at the Potter properties are doing. I'm sure we have enough work between us to help him out. Have you checked out the flat in town yet, Remus?"

"No, I was going to do that tomorrow."

"Well, perhaps we can all go there. If it's in the shape I suspect it is in you could use an elf to clean it up for you and help you move your things there."

"That might help in the short term, but then I'll be at Hogwarts. This is assuming the elf would like to help," replied Remus.

"Trust me, this elf would be happy to help," said Harry.

Having completed his tale of his first two years at Hogwarts, Harry was tired and ready for a good dinner. The three decided to try another restaurant in Diagon Alley. Harry put on one of his new robes and out they went.


	13. Dobby

13\. Dobby

When Remus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron the next morning, he found Harry bent over parchment and Sirius with a frown on his face.

"My my, what's got you two working so hard this morning?"

"I asked Harry if he had completed his summer homework and he assured me he had. So I asked to take a look at it. Needless to say, there are quite a few revisions."

"Harry, I thought you told me you had finished it."

Harry was trying not to sound like a petulant child that he felt like, "Well, I thought I had."

"Apparently what he considers complete and what I do are two very different things. The only thing that looks remotely acceptable is his History homework and that's because Florean helped him with it. What did you turn in last year?"

"Ron and I threw something together while I was at the Burrow last summer. Nobody said anything about it."

"And what grades did you receive?" asked Remus.

Harry tried to hem and haw.

"Harry, please tell me you did better than what I just read," said Sirius

"No. It was worse."

"Moony, would you please spend a little time with him on how to properly prepare an essay? Evidently nobody in that school knows how to provide that information. I've already spent an hour showing him the proper way to hold a quill."

"Why do wizards use a quill anyway? Muggle pens are so much easier to handle and you don't have to worry about spilling ink all over the place!"

"If you wrote these essays using a muggle pen would I be able to read them any better?"

"Well, ummmm, maybe?"

"Why don't we go ahead and go to Potter Hall? I don't know if it is still on the floo network, so we'll have to walk? It's only about five blocks away," suggested Remus.

"I could use some exercise. All right, Harry, you can stop for now, but we will be working on this when we return. Prongs is probably turning over in his grave hearing me say that," Sirius gave Harry a pointed glare.

The trip to the Potter flat was a quick one. True to Remus' word, it was a mere five blocks from the Leaky Cauldron. There were a couple of steps up to the door. Remus tapped his wand on the door knocker and said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." They heard a click and Remus opened the door.

As they came in the entry, lights automatically snapped on. They looked around and saw that everything was pretty much as it had been when it was last used.

Sirius said, "I think I was the last person who lived here. It was close to the Ministry and convenient to Diagon Alley as well. I probably should have cast a stasis spell on it before I left, but I thought I would be coming back here after picking up Harry."

"Yes, although I think the dust is the worst of it. Shall we go on in?" said Remus.

They walked further down the entry hall and checked each room. The entry hall opened up into a sitting room which included a fireplace. Remus checked the pot on the mantle, "Well, there's still some floo powder in here, but I don't know if it's still good. I would prefer to get some fresh rather than trying this." Off the sitting room was a dining room and off of it, the kitchen. They looked in the cupboards and everything still appeared to be good.

"All of the cupboards had stasis charms on them so if we were gone for a few days nothing would go bad," commented Sirius.

On the other side of the sitting room was the library. Three walls were covered in book shelves. There was a picture window looking out onto the back garden. There was a large wooden desk and chair plus a sitting area with a sofa and two side chairs and a coffee table in the middle. It provided a very good place for work or study. Going back through the sitting room, they walked up the stairs to the first floor. There were three large bedrooms. The master suite had an ensuite bathroom and a sitting area. Sirius looked in the closet to see his robes still there. He checked the dresser which also still contained more of his other clothes. Sirius started looking for a small trunk to pack some of them up to take back to the Leaky Cauldron with him.

"They're definitely a bit large, but it is much better than what I've had. No offense, Remus."

"None taken, Sirius. In fact, since I won't be staying here very long before going to Hogwarts, why don't you plan to stay here?"

"Thank you Remus. I'm afraid to see what Grimmauld Place looks like. I doubt Kreacher has been taking care of it."

"Shall we go to the top floor then?"

The three trooped up to the second floor. There was one large room and one bedroom with an ensuite bath up here.

"What's this room for?" asked Harry.

"That's the training room. We would come home from Auror training and practice what we'd learned that day. It's also warded to serve as a place for Remus to stay during the full moon. Your dad and I would change into our animagus forms and keep him company."

"My dad was also an animagus?"

"He was a stag, Harry, which is why he was called Prongs."

"So that's why he called me Prongslet in the will?"

"Yes, Harry. That was what he called you most of the time," responded Remus,"Now, I do believe I could use some help getting this place ready. Let's see if that crazy elf of yours wants some work."

Harry called out, "Dobby!"

A minute later they heard a pop and a strange creature with big floppy ears, green eyes and a long nose stood before Harry, "Master Harry Potter sir! You be calling Dobby?"

"Hi Dobby! How are you? Are you enjoying being free?"

The elf threw himself at Harry and cried, "Master Harry Potter sir cares about poor Dobby! You truly are a great wizard! Dobby be doing well," then Dobby's ears drooped, "I enjoy being free but nobody wants to hire a free elf."

"Would you like to work for us?"

Dobby stared at all three people in front of him for the first time and let out a loud squeak, "Sirius Black! You be a bad man! What are you doing with Master Harry Potter? You better not be hurting him!" He threw himself in front of Harry with his hands out, trying to protect him.

Harry laughed, "It's OK, Dobby. Sirius is my godfather. We're in the process of getting him cleared of the charges. He hasn't hurt me." Dobby still looked at Sirius like he didn't trust him. "And this is Remus. He's going to be living here for a few days. He'll be going to Hogwarts at the end of the week to be a professor."

"How can Dobby be helping Master Harry Potter and his doggie and wolfie?" Remus and Sirius looked at each other quizzically.

"Well, as you can see, this house needs some work. It's been vacant for a long time."

Dobby jumped up and down, "You wants Dobby to be your elf?"

"Well, I don't really need an elf, but I'm willing to pay you for your services."

"You don't want Dobby to be your elf?" again his ears flopped and he looked downcast.

"Of course, Dobby, if you want to work for me. But you have to let me pay you and you have to call me Harry."

"Oh! Master Har… Harry, Dobby is honored to be your elf. I only need a sickle a month. Dobby doesn't have many needs."

"What about a galleon a month and a day off a week?"

"Oh, that's too much! Dobby is not needing that much!"

"That's my final offer, Dobby. Take it or leave it."

"If Dobby must. What can I do for Harry and his wizards?"

Remus asked, "Dobby, will you be fine or do you still need to be bonded to a wizard?"

"Harry asks Dobby to be his elf. Harry has great power and is a great wizard! Dobby be fine!"

Remus thought, "Dobby, have you accepted Harry as your wizard already?"

Dobby's ears flopped down again and he looked at the floor, "Yes Master Wolfie. Harry freed Dobby from the bad master. He wants Dobby to be happy."

Harry laughed, "It's OK Dobby. Do I need to do anything special to make this official?"

"If you put your hand on Dobby's head and say you takes me for your elf, then I say I takes you for my wizard."

Harry got down on his knees so he was at eye level and placed his hand on Dobby's head, "I, Harry James Potter, take Dobby to be my house elf."

"Dobby the house elf takes Harry James Potter as his master."

A gold aura surrounded both wizard and elf, then Dobby hugged Harry and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Dobby will be the best house elf ever!"

"I know you will," Harry laughed.

Remus told Dobby, "If you need anything for the house, you may charge it to my vault." And showed him his Gringotts key.

"Of course Master Wolfie. I will have this place cleaned and sparkling!"

"I will be living in the rooms on the second floor, so if you would clean those first. The food in the kitchen appears to still be good, but if it isn't I want you to vanish it. Make sure you prepare food for yourself. You are not to starve yourself. Hopefully, in a few days Sirius will be coming to live here. He will have the suite on the first floor. His clothes are still there from when he lived here before. If you could clean and straighten them as well. And Dobby, you are not to punish yourself at all. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master Wolfie. Dobby will make everything right."

Harry told him, "Now Dobby, Sirius and I are staying at the Leaky Cauldron. We'll be there until I go back to Hogwarts. If you need anything, just come find us, but make sure nobody else is in the room. You know my owl, Hedwig, already."

"Nice white owl. Harry has good pets!"

"Remus needs help moving his things from his current house here. Will you help him?"

"Of course! Master Wolfie just has to take Dobby there and he will be packed up in no time."

"Remus, do you want us to stay here with you while you get settled?" Harry asked hopefully. That would postpone redoing his homework.

"No, I think Dobby and I have everything under control. Why don't you go back to the Leaky Cauldron. I believe you have some work of your own to take care of." Remus knew what Harry was trying to do.

"Does Harry and his wizards need lunch before you go?" Dobby also sensed something as well.

Sirius answered, "Thank you Dobby, but Harry has some things he needs to complete," and gave the teen the evil eye then transformed into his animagus form.

Harry tried to stall their return to the Leaky Cauldron but Padfoot ran circles around him trying to lead him forward. Finally he butted Harry in the bum, telling him to move.

"All right, Padfoot, I'm coming," and picked up his feet.


	14. Homework Revisited

**14\. Homework Revisited**

Harry tried to avoid his homework, but Sirius wouldn't let him.

"I know you don't want to do this, Harry, but you really need to. I know you are smarter than what your homework shows, so what's the problem?"

"Well, Snape's not going to care what I put down; he's going to give me a D anyway. None of the other teachers have ever said anything about it before."

"I'll make sure Remus talks to Snape about how he treats you. Once I'm cleared, I'll have my own talk with all of your professors, beginning with Minerva. As your head of house, she should be counseling you about your performance. Now, let's start with your Transfiguration homework first. I got an O on my NEWTS, so I think I am qualified to help you here. Why are you having problems with it?"

"Professor McGonagall went over it with us right at the end of the term, but with everything that was happening at the end of the year I was a bit preoccupied with other things."

"You shouldn't have that problem this year, so let's get you started off on the right foot. I want you to explain it to me as if you were teaching me the transfiguration."

Harry opened his book to the chapter on Inanimate Transfiguration and hesitated before started, "It's hard to explain it when you can't DO it."

"I know. We've complained about that for years. It's easy for students who live in magical houses because they can't tell exactly who cast the spell. You could probably cast here and not be noticed. We're going to have to work on your casting before you go back anyway so we can modulate your power. I bet if you tried to cast _Wingardium Leviosa_ now your feather would embed itself in the ceiling. I'll get Remus to ask Amelia to have the Department of Underage Magic ignore any notices for you so you can get some practice now. Since he's a professor and the Potter Steward, she shouldn't have any problems with that, especially since she is aware of the binding on your core. Now, let's try again."

Harry began again with starts and stops, but finally he got the hang of it and was rolling along. After another hour Sirius stopped him. "I think you've got it now. All you need to do is write down what you were explaining to me. You might want to write it like you are teaching someone. Minerva will be satisfied with that."

"Can we have lunch first?"

"I forget. Teenage boys run on their stomachs. And yes, we can. You took your potion at breakfast, correct?"

"Yes," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Roll your eyes again at me, young man, and you'll see how it feels to have them roll constantly for ten minutes. And I won't clean your sick up when you do."

They headed back downstairs to eat. Harry decided on a sandwich and some fruit instead of a heavy lunch. Tom brought something else for Padfoot who seemed to enjoy it. This time Harry asked for just a small bit of pudding. Both Sirius and Remus had counseled him about his eating habits. If he was going to regain his full health he needed to make better choices in what he ate. Potions could only do so much.

When they got back to the room, Hedwig had returned from her trip to Hogwarts. Sticking her leg out to Harry, she nipped his ear while he took the note from Professor McGonagall from her. He read the note and passed it to Sirius:

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _I am quite happy to change your elective from Divination to Ancient Runes. It appears that Professor Lupin has already had a positive influence on you in such a short time. Please ensure you have a copy of_ _Runes: A Basic Primer_ _when you arrive. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Sirius barked a laugh, "If she only knew. I told you she would be more than happy to make that change. I can't believe they're still teaching that subject. While I'm thinking about it, let me contact Remus about getting your wand released. Hedwig just got back so I don't want to send her right back out."

"Can't you just have Dobby give him the message?"

"Good thinking! Dobby!"

"Master Doggie is calling Dobby?"

"Yes Dobby. Could you ask Remus to contact Director Bones about getting an underage magic waiver for Harry?"

"Of course Master Doggie. Dobby be telling Master Wolfie your message," then popped right out.

"You know, that elf grows on you."

"I hope all house elves aren't like him?"

"Oh no. Kreacher is one of the vilest creatures I've ever had the displeasure to know. Now, back to your homework, pup."

Harry got out a new piece of parchment and started rewriting his Transfiguration homework. He'd written down notes while he'd been talking with Sirius earlier so it made it easier to remember what he'd been discussing. By the time he'd finished it, he had a cramp in his hand but he was proud of the result. He passed it over to Sirius to read.

"This is much better, Harry. Your penmanship is definitely improved. Your essay is much easier to understand and you make all the correct points you should make without being overly wordy. This should definitely be worth an Exceeds Expectation if not an Outstanding. Now, let's talk about your Charms homework."

Sirius had Harry do the same thing for Charms as he had for Transfiguration and had Harry teach him the information first. Again Harry made notes on the reverse of his original essay to refer to later. When he thought he was done, Sirius added a couple of extra points he should make. They were about to stop for dinner when Dobby popped back in.

"Master Wolfie would like to know if you be eating dinner with him?"

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be good," answered Sirius.

"No problem Master Doggie. Would you like Dobby to take you over?"

Sirius started to say no, but Harry stopped him, "Fudge told me not to go out into muggle London, so it would look strange if I went out with just you. Hopefully Tom didn't notice us coming back earlier."

"Good point. Dobby, if you please." They each took one of Dobby's hands and they were quickly transported to Potter Hall.

The house had made major strides in just the few hours they had been gone. The sitting and dining rooms shined and the kitchen was taking shape as well. Remus welcomed them back and showed them what had been accomplished so far. While there was still much to be done, it was beginning to look like it was habitable again.

"Remus, Harry reminded me of something. He can't be seen going out into muggle London without an adult wizard with him. I think we got by when we returned earlier, but we can't count on that."

"I'll walk back with you tonight. I'm going to stop by the ministry tomorrow morning to talk to Amelia if she is available and talk to the floo network manager about the status of Potter Hall. If all is well, I'll get some fresh floo powder and we can floo back and forth from the Leaky Cauldron. It will also make it easier for me when I go to Hogwarts. I can floo directly to Minerva's office. "

"Harry and Harry's wizards, dinner be served."

They all adjourned to the dining room. Dobby had gone a bit overboard with dinner, but everyone was satisfied. Remus made sure Dobby had eaten too before they went into the sitting room.

Remus went into professor mode again, "How far did you get on your homework this time, Harry?"

"I've got Transfiguration done," and under his breath he said 'again', "and Charms is half done. I just need to write it up."

"Which leaves Potions, Herbology and a few edits for History of Magic, correct?"

"Yeah. We didn't get any homework for DADA since there was nobody there to give us any."

"What about Astronomy?"

"Oh. Right. I think I forgot about it. It's not much; just a discussion about Jupiter's moons."

"Had you even done it before I reminded you?"

Harry blushed and said, "No. I'll get it done."

Remus walked into the library and came back a few minutes later with several books, "I think these will be helpful to your efforts."

"Thanks!"

"Why don't we get you two back to the Leaky Cauldron. Padfoot, if you'd like to sleep here tonight, I can have Dobby come get you and bring you back."

"Thanks. I think Harry might like some extra room to stretch out. We need to make sure Harry takes me outside before he goes to bed, then again when he goes down to breakfast. We have to keep the disguise up for a few extra days."

"Very good. Harry, I'd like to go over the Potter holdings with you tomorrow afternoon. If we need to do anything, it would be best to handle it face to face with the goblins. I think we should also make an appointment with Gerald Howe for Wednesday to fill him in on the plan since Hermione will be here on Thursday."

"Sounds good to me!"

The trio walked back to the Leaky Cauldron and made sure to take Padfoot outside where he was seen to take care of his business. They went up to Harry's room.

"You have the whole evening free, but I would hope you would work on your homework. You should be able to finish your Charms homework fairly quickly. It would probably be good to write your friends. Ron doesn't know that Hermione is coming for sure," said Sirius.

"Sure. The sooner I get it done, the sooner you'll get off my back," Harry said with a grin.

"And don't forget it. Uncle Moony will be keeping a close eye on you, Mr. Potter, so don't think you will be able to slack off when you get to Hogwarts."

Remus went back downstairs to walk back to Potter Hall. Once Sirius was certain Harry would be fine for the evening, he called for Dobby and also left for Potter Hall.


	15. Fortunes of Potters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I just took them out to play for a bit.**

 **15\. Fortunes of Potters**

Monday morning brought rain to London. It was a dull, dreary day. Harry was only too happy to stay in and work on his homework. He waited for Sirius to return before going down for breakfast. He didn't have to wait very long before Sirius and Dobby popped in.

"Does Harry have clothes he needs Dobby to clean?"

"Sure, Dobby. Thanks!"

"Harry does not needs to be thanking poor Dobby."

"Well, I appreciate you thinking about me. I was wondering if there was a wizard laundry in the Alley."

"Oh, Harry needs not be finding others to cleans his clothes!"

"That was before you were here to do this, Dobby. I wouldn't want to take your job away from you."

"Thank you Harry. Dobby be going now. Master Doggie just needs to call Dobby when he be ready to come back."

Have a good day, Dobby," Sirius bade the elf farewell, "How was your evening, Harry?"

"Fine. I got Charms done and Astronomy too. Those books Remus gave me really helped a lot. Now to get through with Potions and Herbology and I think that will be the end of it. Remus also gave me a couple of potions books too. I need Neville here to help with Herbology."

"What is he like? Alice was fairly reserved but Frank was more outgoing."

"Neville is pretty shy. I think his grandmother intimidates him. He's an absolute wiz at Herbology, though. You know, I think some of his other problems are because he's using his dad's wand. I think he could do better at Charms and Transfiguration if he just had the right wand."

"Augusta gave him Frank's wand to use? She must have gone around the bend! Once things settle down I'll have a talk with her. She will be an ally for both of us. I'm glad that James gave her the proxy for the seat in the Wizengamot. She is a force to be reckoned with when she gets a bee in her bonnet. Now, how about we go down for breakfast? I'm hungry!"

Sirius resumed his Padfoot form and they went down. Harry had found a spot in the pub that was relatively hidden from the rest of the customers so he didn't have to deal with people coming up to him and talking to him about all of the Boy Who Lived nonsense. He took an extra piece of bacon to take back to Hedwig just to make up to his owl for the many days she had been neglected too. Padfoot also got some eggs and bacon as well as a bowl of water to drink from. Once they were both full, they headed back upstairs.

While Sirius read through his Charms and Astronomy homework, Harry worked on his Herbology homework. He was definitely saving Potions for last. After having worked on the other three classes using the new essay strategy, he found the Herbology assignment went much smoother than it had the first time he'd attempted it. He sure wished someone had explained it to him when he first got to Hogwarts! When he put down his quill and looked at Sirius, he said, "Done," with a grin.

"Your work is getting much better! I had no trouble following your Astronomy essay at all. You were clear and concise. Your Astronomy professor should notice the difference as well. Now, let me see your Herbology paper."

Just as he said that, there was a knock on the door with someone calling out, "Housekeeping."

Harry asked them to wait just a moment to give Sirius time to transform into Padfoot. Harry then went and opened the door and let the housekeeper in. He was surprised that Tom didn't use elves for that job. He struck up a conversation with the woman, "Good morning Ma'am. How are you this morning?"

"Fine except for the warlock in Room 5! Thinks he owns the place! Has stuff strewn all over the room. No place for a person to walk, much less clean! Not like you. You have your things neat and tidy. Even your dog is polite. He knows when I come over to a certain place to move out of my way. Best dog I've ever seen here in all of my sixty years."

"Thank you Ma'am. Snuffles tries to be a good dog. Is there anything else I could do the help you?"

"No, dearie. I'm fine. You're a nice boy, Mr. Potter. Very few people would think to ask about the housekeeper. Now, let me just get the bathroom and I'll be done." She quickly finished her task and was on her way.

"Best dog ever," choked out Sirius as he returned to his human form, "I'm going to have to tell Moony that I'm a good boy! He'll split his sides laughing."

"But the good thing is that nobody else suspects you are anything other than a dog."

"You have a good point, pup. Let them keep thinking that."

"Is it alright if I take a break for a bit? I'd like to send Ron that note before I forget it." Hedwig gave him a glare insinuating he wouldn't go out in this weather but he would send HER. She'd have to give her wizard a reminder that she had feelings too!

Harry sat back down and pulled a clean sheet of parchment out to let his best mate know about the current plans:

 _Hi Ron!_

 _Guess what? Hermione can come too! Her parents were planning to bring her over on Thursday anyway since they had a day off, but they're going to let her go on and stay until we go back to Hogwarts. I guess knowing there would be adults around made them feel better. I've got so much to tell you both! It's been amazing! No problem about going to the Magical Menagerie. Hermione said her parents are going to let her have a pet so she wants to go there too. I hope you can get here by lunchtime at least. Can't wait to see you both!_

 _Harry_

"I think we should take a quick walk outside so Snuffles can take care of his business. I need to stretch my legs for a few minutes."

"Sounds good, pup. I forget sometimes about keeping up the ruse."

They took a quick walk out into the back garden to take care of Padfoot's needs and then came back in. It was also a good time to eat lunch, so they moved into the pub for the noon meal. Harry had just about memorized the menu when Tom came over to take his order.

"How are you doing today, Mr. Potter?"

"Fine Tom. You know you can call me Harry, right? Especially since you want me to call you Tom."

"It just doesn't seem right. You getting rid of You Know Who and all."

"It sure would make me feel better!"

"OK, Harry."

"Great! How about the baked chicken with a salad and rice?"

"I'll have it right up for you. I've got some left over roast beef for your dog there."

Padfoot thumped his tail in approval and gave the man a silly grin.

Harry laughed and said, "I think he likes that."

They ate slowly, enjoying the food. As they were almost finished, Remus joined them.

"Well, that was a productive visit to the Ministry for a change. I'll tell you more when we're upstairs. So, what have you done this morning?"

"I got my Herbology essay done. I finished up Charms and Astronomy last night. That just leaves Potions. I still don't think it's worth my time to put so much effort into it." At that comment, Padfoot nipped his thigh, "OK Snuffles! I'll give it some effort!"

"I sensed something from Severus at the will reading that he may have had a change in attitude. Perhaps turning in a well thought out summer essay will show your willingness to meet him half way."

"I don't know if I'm willing to go that far, but if he does, then I'll try."

"That's all I can ask."

They moved back to Harry's room. Remus put up privacy wards so they would be able to talk freely.

"First, the good news. You have been given wand privileges for the remainder of the summer. I will let Arthur and Molly know that so they won't be surprised if you do any magic. I'd like to see how you are doing today. I would suggest doing that in the training room at Potter Hall."

"Very good idea, Moony. I'd also suggest you restrict any magic to your room. You don't want to let anyone else know what you are or are not able to do at this point."

"OK."

"Just to see your capability now, cast a simple _Lumos_ charm."

Harry did and instead of the relatively normal light he usually produced, it was bright enough they had to shade their eyes. Harry quickly cast a _Nox_ to turn it off.

"Well, that tells us something Padfoot. Harry, try to levitate your Herbology book on the table."

Harry did and, as predicted, it slammed into the ceiling.

"We're going to have to do some work with you on managing your power. We'll do that later. The next thing is the plan for the rat. Amelia will have at least one Auror 'working' at the Magical Menagerie starting Friday morning just in case the Weasleys get here early. They will have the proper cage just under the counter to put him in before he suspects anything. I'm going to be escorting you and will ask Arthur to as well. Padfoot, you may come along as long as you don't try to eat the rat first. If all goes as we plan, you will need to be planning to go to Gerald to turn yourself in. Once I come back from the Ministry and tell you he's been captured, I expect you to go there. We'll work out that once we've talked to him later this week, probably Wednesday. Now, I took a quick look over the package the goblins sent over last night. It appears they have been managing your assets quite well without any input from you or your so called guardians. Now, which would you like to start with, properties, businesses or actual money and valuables?"

"Wait! I have all that?"

Sirius barked a laugh, "Harry, you are one of the richest wizards in Britain. I'm not sure how the Black fortunes are now, but we were either number one or two. The Potters were around number five. The Malfoys don't show up until about ten or so."

"You mean I'm worth more than Draco?"

"Oh much more. The next time that idiot tries to put you down I'm going to give you a few choice things to say to him that will put him right in his place."

"Brilliant! Which is the easiest then?"

Remus replied, "I think the properties are the quickest."

"You said properties. Does that mean I have more than one house?"

"Yes. There are three primary properties, Potter Manor, Godric's Hollow and Potter Hall. Godric's Hollow is where you were living when your parents were killed. As far as I know, nothing has been done to it, so it is probably still in rough condition. It doesn't appear the Ministry ordered it to be razed. We'll have to take a trip there to see."

"Is that where my parents are buried?"

Sirius jumped in, "You mean those filthy muggles never even took you to see their grave? Oh, I am going to be having words with them!"

Remus took over again, "Yes, Harry, your parents are buried in Godric's Hollow. It has been quite a while since I've been there. We may want to go there and then to Potter Manor to see what shape it is in and how the elves are doing."

"Sounds good to me!"

"There are also a couple of lesser properties. One is a small cottage in Sicily that your father's family used for holidays and the other one is in Austria. Again, we will need to check on these, but it may be the Christmas holidays before we can. The head elf at Potter Manor should have some idea of their status and what we would need to do to key others into the wards."

"Wait! How many elves do I have?"

Sirius answered, "I believe there were eight at Potter Manor and they took care of all of the Potter properties. There wasn't one at Godric's Hollow because Lily wouldn't allow it. I don't know how many there are now. I can't seem to remember who the head elf was."

"OK. Maybe we can go to one of the other properties for the holidays? I've never seen the mountains other than what's around Hogwarts. The only time I've seen the sea was when the Dursleys were escaping my Hogwarts letter."

Remus replied, "I'm sure something can be arranged. I'll have to see when the full moon is as to whether or not I will be able to go with you."

"Oh, right. Well, whatever you can arrange is fine with me."

Sirius spoke up, "Don't worry Harry. you will not be staying at Hogwarts this Christmas. We will go wherever you want to go."

"Thanks. So where is Potter Manor?"

Sirius again replied, "Actually, it's near the Longbottoms. It's in county Devon. There's even a Quidditch pitch where you can fly."

"Brilliant!"

Remus added, "The library there is quite large. I'm sure you will be able to find some additional books to take back with you to Hogwarts."

Harry tried not to roll his eyes, "I bet Hermione could get lost in there for days!"

"Yes, well, it's a good thing you didn't roll those eyes, young man! I saw you stopping yourself."

"Sirius!"

"I did that one too many times and James' father used that spell on me that I threatened you with. After a couple of times I never did it again."

"OK, so that's the properties, what's next?"

"How about the business holdings then? I think you will be pleased with some of them."

"Go on."

"First, there's your 25% share in the _Daily Prophet_."

"And the Black's did own another 25%. In other words, let them try to slander either of us again and they will rue the day they went against us!" Sirius chimed in.

"Wicked! I'm so tired of them already."

Remus resumed, "There's also a 10% share in Nimbus Broom Company and another 10% in Lightning Broom Company. They make the Firebolt series of brooms. There's a 20% share in Fairweather Construction Company. They do both magic and muggle construction. A 10% share in Zonko's Joke Shop and another 10% in Honeydukes. Both of those are in Hogsmeade, the town just outside Hogwarts. Speaking of which, do you have your Hogsmeade permission form?"

"Yeah, do you mean you can sign it?"

"I'm sure there will be no problem. I'll sign it before you leave and then talk to Minerva about it once I get there."

Harry quickly went to his trunk to find his letter from Professor McGonagall. The new trunk had helped him organize his belongings better. It was sitting on top of his invisibility cloak. He took it over to Remus who quickly signed it and handed it back to Harry.

"Is that all?"

"No, not yet. Apparently you have claim to twelve other vaults. People bequeathed you these after you destroyed Voldemort."

"Why would they do that?"

"There were so many people thankful to you for getting rid of him. These people had no other heirs, so they left them to you. They all total up to about 400,000 galleons plus property. There are another four properties as well as gems, jewelry, books and other assorted items."

"I don't understand why anyone would do that."

Sirius replied, "You don't understand the atmosphere of the times. Not only that, if they had not named an heir, all of their savings and holdings would have become property of the Ministry. Would you want Fudge taking what your parents had left for you?"

"No!"

Remus resumed his recitation, "That's all of the wizard holdings. You have some muggle ones as well. I suspect your mother may have been responsible for them."

"Wow. This is a lot to take in!"

"I told you that you were filthy rich, pup!"

"I guess it didn't really sink in how much that was."

"Shall we get back on task gentlemen? Now, your muggle holdings include a 40% share in Grunnings Drills for some reason."

Harry burst out laughing.

Remus and Sirius asked together, "What's so funny?"

"That's the company Uncle Vernon works for! This is great! Uncle Vernon works for me!"

"I believe you are the majority shareholder of the company. Your father had the ownership of his muggle businesses consolidated into a company called Rawlins, Ltd. Your total muggle holdings are valued at about £800,000. You own percentages in Barclays Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds of London, British Petroleum, British American Tobacco and Post Office Telecommunications. In America, you own a 5% share of Apple, which is, as I understand it, a considerable amount, as well as General Electric, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Wal-Mart, Boeing and IBM. Based on your current net worth, these are all quite respectable. At this point, I don't see making any changes."

"Are you sure we can't put some leverage on Grunnings to get Vernon fired?"

"Well, I believe we have sufficient pressure on the Dursleys at the moment. Let's not add insult to injury. Plus, if he were out of a job, he would not be able to pay back the mortgage which is rewarding you nicely."

"So that's all the property and business holdings, correct?"

"Yes. Now on to the monetary holdings. Let's start simple with your muggle account at Barclays. At the time they made their will, the account was worth about £50,000. It is currently worth just about £125,000. I seriously doubt your shopping spree in muggle London will do much damage to the account balance," Remus smirked.

Harry hit the older man on the arm, "Even Dudley couldn't spend THAT much on clothes!"

"Now, let's discuss the wizarding money. You currently have approximately 3.5 million galleons in the main Potter vault. Of course your trust vault has been topped off to 20,000 galleons as your parents directed. The value of the gems and other precious metals in the vault has not been evaluated, but based on the inventory, quite a lot. There are some things in the vault that are not on the inventory. Those would be things such as your mother's journals, books on the family magics and some books that were not appropriate to keep in the main library. There are also the Head and Heir rings. I recommend we stop by there tomorrow and go through some of it. At least get your mother's journal that she wanted Severus to have."

"Sure. I don't think I have anything else that needs to be done there."

"While I'm thinking about it, I made you an appointment for Wednesday morning at half eight with the oculist to have your eyes checked and get you some decent glasses. I don't know how many times those have been repaired, but it's time they were tossed into the rubbish bin."

"OK. I guess I should have thought about that sooner."

"No problem, but as an appropriate steward and your soon-to-be professor, I want to make sure you take care of that before school starts this term. Now, at this time, I do not see a need to make any changes in your current holdings. Our most pressing need is to take a look at the properties and see what they need. Other than that, I think we can tell Griphook to continue as he is currently."

"When will the Dursleys find out about the change in their mortgage payment?"

"I believe Griphook has it set for the October payment. We wanted to make sure you were safely back at school before taking any action. This way they shouldn't make the connection to your departure and the sudden change in their finances. Oh, and Amelia would like to meet with you tomorrow."

"Why?"

"She has been in contact with both wizard and muggle family services. The representative from the muggles is a muggleborn witch who went back into the muggle world after graduation so there is no breach of the Statute of Secrecy. They would like to both meet with you tomorrow to discuss your time with the Dursleys."

"Can't we just drop it? I'm out of there now."

Sirius spoke this time, "No, Harry, you cannot just drop it. They hurt you. Their son is a thug. They can't be allowed to get away with it. If I have to walk into the Ministry of Magic in my human form I will if it gets you to ensure those muggles get their due."

Harry was shocked at the intensity that Sirius said that last statement, "No, I don't want you to get in trouble until we've got the rat taken care of."

"Good. Now, is there anything else we need to take care of today, Remus?"

"No. I believe that is all for now. I think Dobby is expecting you for dinner. I'll go downstairs and go through the floo. Why don't you take 'Snuffles' for a quick walk and then call Dobby to get you?"

Harry and Snuffles headed downstairs to take care of business. The rain had stopped and the sun was trying to make an appearance. Having been seen by Tom and asked if he wanted dinner, Harry and Snuffles headed back upstairs."

"Dobby."

"Harry calls Dobby?"

"Hi Dobby! I hear you are cooking tonight."

"Yes Harry. Dinner be almost finished."

They each took one of the elf's hands and were taken to Potter Hall. Remus took them into the sitting room and gave them the instructions for the floo."

"The destination is Potter Hall as one would think. I have a fresh jar of floo powder now. Harry, you need to be very careful to say exactly where you want to go. Keep your elbows in and your mouth closed. We'll work on your entry and exit later. I don't want to see you end up in Knockturn Alley again."

Harry turned a nice shade of red and muttered, "Well, it was my first time and everybody was trying to tell me what to do!"

"I know. I was wondering if you would like to have your friends over for dinner one night while they're here. I think we have the majority of the rooms cleaned out. We can put the tickets as 'Surprise Location' or something like that."

"Can I?"

"Of course! It is your house."

"No, it's your house Remus! "

"Thank you Harry, but you may want to use it one day."

"My parents said you could use it for as long as you want and I want you to think of it as your home! I've got plenty of places to live."

"Moony, you will always have a place to live if I have anything to do with it. James and Lily meant for you to have Potter Hall for as long as you need it. Who knows, Remus, you may find a cute little she-wolf to make a den with," said Sirius with a grin on his face.

"Nonsense! Well, I thank you for your kindness, Harry."

They adjourned to the dining room and enjoyed Dobby's latest feast. Sirius still wasn't able to eat a heavy meal, but he was getting better.

"Once you've been cleared, Padfoot, I want you to go to St. Mungo's for a complete checkup. I'm sure you also have some nutritional deficiencies as well. Harry's not the only one who needs to take better care of themselves now that they can."

"Yes mother." Harry and Remus both laughed at that.

Once dinner was finished they headed up to the training room to run Harry through his paces. All of his spells were overpowered. Sirius wasn't able to participate until suddenly he said, "I'll be right back." He came back a few minutes later holding a wand and grinning, "Look what I found!"

"Padfoot! Where did you get that?"

"Most Aurors have a back-up wand. You just don't know that. I didn't have mine on me when I went after Peter. This one doesn't work quite as well for me as my primary one, but it will let me do the main things we need for now."

"Please make sure you keep that here when you leave. We don't want the Ministry asking how you got a wand."

"Not a problem. Now, Harry, I want you to cast a disarming charm at me. I'll put up a shield. I want to get an idea of your power."

Harry did and pushed Sirius back against the wall.

"Well, pup, that was interesting. Let's try something. I want you to close your eyes. Now, cast a _Lumos_ and feel how your body responds when you do. Picture what you want to have happen. If you're trying to just light your way down a set of stairs or trying to light a room, your intent should be different."

Harry did as he was asked, "Now cast a _Nox_ and feel what happens."

Again he complied. "Tell me what you felt."

"I think I need to try a couple of times, but I think I felt something between my chest and stomach. It felt warm. Sort of the feeling I had when they released the binding. I got this warm feeling all over."

"OK, try that a few times. You can try some harmless hexes such as a jelly legs or a stinging hex too. Then we'll let you try levitating something again."

Harry tried each several times with his eyes closed, then tried it again with his eyes open so he could see his results. After about the sixth try, he was able to modulate his light charm to a more manageable level.

"Very good, Harry. Now I'm going to set up a training dummy to let you practice with. That way I won't be picking myself up off the floor."

Sirius went over to the dummy and moved it up about half-way. He put a stick in its hand and then moved back behind Harry, "OK, now before you try, think about what you want to do. Visualize it, then try."

Harry closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted to do. He wanted to get the dummy to give up his wand but he didn't want to knock it out. He took a couple of deep breaths then opened his eyes again, " _Expelliarmus_!" he shouted.

The fake wand flew at Harry and smacked him in the face. Sirius picked it up and reset the dummy. After about the fifth try, he could get the dummy to give up its wand and not fly back ten feet. He tried several other spells, learning how to regulate them as well. After about an hour, Harry had to stop - he was beat!

"Very good, Harry," said Remus, "now, before we stop for the night, I want you to cast them at me."

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"One of the good things about being a werewolf is that I have more strength and stamina than a normal wizard. Don't ever worry about hurting your opponent, especially in a duel. I can see how you may feel against your classmates. We want to get you to temper your spells if you can. It's best to not let everyone, especially Albus, know just how powerful you are now."

"OK, here goes nothing." Harry took a deep breath and then cast the disarming charm. This time it was much more manageable.

"Very good, Harry. Let's try a couple more." Harry did and they worked well. Sirius would cancel out each charm after Harry cast it.

"Now, I want you to disarm me but use your full power. You really need to get my wand away from me."

Harry took a deep breath, then said, " _Expelliarmus_!"

Remus rocked back on his feet and his wand flew out of his hand towards Harry. This time his seeker's reflexes kicked in and he caught the wand before it hit him. He walked over and handed Remus his wand.

"Now, let's try it again with the power you want to use in class."

Again Harry thought about what he wanted to have happen and cast the spell. This time the wand flew at Harry but Remus never moved.

"Excellent! We'll work on others as we have time. Tomorrow I want you to bring your third year Charms and Transfiguration books with you. We can try out some of the first few just to see how you do.

With the training done, it was time for Harry to go back to the Leaky Cauldron. Dobby popped both Harry and Sirius back into Harry's room. Harry took Snuffles down for his evening walk then went back to his room. Once Sirius was sure Harry was settled in for the night he called Dobby and went back to Potter Hall.


	16. Wizarding Family Services

**16\. Wizarding Family Services**

Harry was not looking forward to the visit to the Ministry when he woke up Tuesday morning. He knew it was something he needed to do but was afraid it would somehow get out and he'd have everybody laughing at him. He was too weak to stand up to a bunch of muggles, how could they expect him to stand up to a Dark Lord? He put on his maroon day robe and waited for Sirius to arrive. Even he seemed to be dragging a bit.

"Good morning, Harry. Did you sleep well?"

"Pretty good. You look like you didn't."

"Nothing to worry about. I sometimes have some trouble sleeping. It will even out over the next several weeks. Now, shall we get some breakfast?"

The two went downstairs and found their usual booth open. Tom came over and got their orders. Today Harry was having some porridge with blueberries and cream, bacon and some toast. Snuffles got eggs and sausages this morning. Apparently Remus had managed to figure out just how much time it took for them to eat because just as they were finishing, he stepped out of the floo and walked over to the table.

"Good morning. How are you doing this morning?"

"Fine. I was really tired last night so I went straight to bed."

"That's not unusual. When you expend a lot of magic, your body will react, usually by making you feel tired or out of sorts. You should bounce back more rapidly once you get used to your power and how to modulate it. Now, shall we take Snuffles for a quick walk?"

They let Snuffles have a romp around the garden then took him back upstairs to wait. With them going to the Ministry and not being able to take him with them, he needed to remain behind to continue the ruse. Anyone hearing their destination at the floo would expect to see the dog up in the room. Sirius had brought a book with him to read but charmed the cover to be one of Harry's textbooks. Once the housekeeper knocked, he'd turn into Snuffles so no one would be the wiser.

Making their way to Madam Bones' office, they ran into Mr. Weasley.

"Harry! Good to see you! Sorry I was unable to make the reading last week. I believe Ron told you about our trip to Egypt to visit Bill."

"Yes sir. I'm glad you were able to go. Do you know Remus Lupin, sir? He's going to be our DADA professor this year."

"I believe we may have met years ago," Mr. Weasley responded. What was it about this man was he trying to remember?

"Arthur, good to see you again. It has been a long time. Harry told me you and your family will be spending some time in Diagon Alley at the end of the week."

"Yes. It seems like our luck has really cashed in. First the trip to Egypt and now time in Diagon Alley to get the kids all ready for school. I have five children there right now. Percy is in his last year and has been selected as Head Boy; the twins, Fred and George are in their fifth year; Ron is in Harry's year; and Ginny is in her second year."

"Harry speaks fondly of all of you. I hope that I can have some of yours and Molly's time while you are there. I've been appointed Steward for the Potter family. I need to explain why you were requested at the reading of James' and Lily's wills."

"Of course! I'm hoping to have the family there by lunchtime, but you know how children can be."

"Yes, I do. I'm afraid I'm about to learn much more about it too," Remus said with a chuckle.

"It sounds like Albus may have actually hired someone who knows what they are doing. The last few have been absolutely dreadful."

"Harry has given me a detailed account of his first two years at Hogwarts so I'm afraid I understand what you mean."

"Well, let me not keep you any further. Might I inquire about your visit to the Ministry?"

"Harry has a meeting with Amelia Bones about some items included in his parents' will. Nothing serious. She just needs some clarification of some issues."

"I'll let you be on your way. I'd hate to keep the Director of the DMLE waiting. See you Friday, Harry, Remus."

"Goodbye Mr. Weasley."

They walked the rest of the way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There were two other women waiting in the anteroom when they entered. When the assistant noticed them, she went to let Director Bones know they were all here. She quickly ushered them into the office.

"Good to see you again Harry, Remus. May I introduce Candace Williams and Sandra Milton. Candace works in Wizarding Family Services. Sandra works for the muggle Children's Social Services. She is usually our point of contact for any of our muggleborn children in need of services. I've given them a brief overview of the situation, but am leaving the details to you. They know that you were orphaned and why but neither were aware you had been placed with a muggle family. Candace, if you would start."

"Thank you Madam Bones. Mr. Potter, …"

"Please call me Harry."

"Of course, Harry. When Madam Bones contacted me about your case, I checked our files to see what we had on record for you. Imagine my surprise that there was no records for you at all. With a high profile case such as yours, a file should have been started immediately. I talked to several people who worked in WFS during that period and none of them remember anything about a file being created for you. Naturally, I discussed more than just you. We do have a file on Neville Longbottom and his guardianship with his grandmother. There were several other children orphaned around the same time and we have records on them all. Do you know how this could have happened?"

Remus and Harry looked at each other and said, "Dumbledore."

Candace looked at them and asked, "What does Albus Dumbledore have to do with this?"

Remus asked, "May we hear what the muggle records show before we give you that explanation?"

Sandra spoke, "Unlike our magical counterpart, there was a small file for you. There is a record of one visit by a social worker to your aunt and uncle after your teacher reported seeing you bruised and in pain. Do you remember this?"

"Yes Ma'am. On the way to school one morning, my cousin Dudley and his gang had chased me around the neighborhood. I tripped over a tree root. Before I could get up they gathered around and took turns kicking and punching me. My glasses got broken too."

"Do you remember a social worker visiting with your aunt and uncle?"

Harry scoffed, "Yes Ma'am. A Mrs. Richards came by to talk to them. Her sister lives about five houses down from us. She had tea with Aunt Petunia while they laughed about the incident writing it off to my clumsiness and telling lies because I didn't have my homework done."

"Did you have your homework done?"

"Yes Ma'am but Dudley took it out of my backpack and turned it in as his own."

"Did this happen often?"

"At least once a week. I finally got to the point where I didn't do my homework so that he didn't have anything to steal."

"I also checked to see if there was a file on anyone else named Dursley. There wasn't one, however I did check school records for both you and your cousin and let's just say your cousin's file was quite thick. I wonder how he was ever admitted into Smeltings."

"If you pay them enough, they'll take anybody."

Madam Bones took this opportunity to interrupt, "Harry, why don't you tell all of us about your time with the Dursleys from as far back as you can remember. I know this is painful, but it will help us better help you."

Harry started back as far as he could remember which was when he was about two and a half years old. He told them about the cupboard under the stairs, being hit by Aunt Petunia's frying pan when he burned the bacon when he was five, his aunt cutting off all of his hair because it wouldn't lay flat and it growing back overnight. He told about giving up at school because it didn't matter what he did it was never good enough to be considered a part of the family. He told them about his first birthday present from Hagrid and his first Christmas present from the Weasleys. Everything he'd wanted to tell somebody but nobody would ever listen to a freak, he told. When he was done, he was drained, but he also felt some relief that somebody actually cared enough to ask his side of the story. He realized then that at some point in his story Remus had put a hand on his arm to sort of ground him.

Madam Bones asked, "Did Professor Dumbledore tell you why you had to keep going back to your relatives' house when you asked him if you could stay over the summer?"

"He said that it was against school policy for anyone to remain over the summer and that it was safest for me to be with the Dursleys because of some kind of blood ward."

"Do you know if anyone has actually checked the wards on the house?"

"No ma'am."

Remus chimed in, "I can talk to the goblins this afternoon when we go to the bank and see if they can send a team to inspect the wards and give us a report. I meant to ask Griphook last week but other things were more pressing."

Candace asked, "You said you had a medical report from the goblins. May we see it?"

Remus handed his copy of the report to her. As she read it her face kept looking more grim as she kept going further down the page. When she was finished, she handed it over to her counterpart. Once she had finished, Sandra asked the next question, "Harry, I know you said they withheld food from you as punishment, but you didn't say how long. From your medical report it appears it was more than just a 'go to bed without pudding.'"

"Yes ma'am. It was hard to tell sometimes how long it was when I was younger because it seemed so much longer. For example, last summer after they put bars on the window and locks on the door, they fed me a can of soup a day through the cat flap which I had to share with my owl because they wouldn't let me let her out to fly. Uncle Vernon said he didn't want me telling my 'freaky friends' what was going on. Before I went to Hogwarts, if it hadn't been for free lunches at primary school, it might have been worse."

Sandra followed it up, "Have you had the remaining injuries healed or repaired?"

"Yes ma'am. The goblin healer took care of all of that last week."

"What would you like to see happen to the Dursleys?" Sandra asked.

"I don't really know. Part of me would like to see them held responsible for what they did to me, but the other part says it just isn't worth it. After discovering the charm on me to hate anyone Dursley I suspect there's one on them as well. In that case, can they really be held responsible for something that was beyond their control?"

"I agree, that is something I would like to find out as well. Would the Ministry be able to provide someone who can check that out without anyone noticing if we were to make a home visit?" asked Candace.

Remus entered the discussion, "We do not feel comfortable asking anyone from the Ministry to be involved due to Harry's status. If it got out that this was happening it would be on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ not to mention the known interference of Albus in Harry's life. Perhaps the goblins will be able to check that when they check the wards."

"If you could get them to do that, it would help considerably."

"The only problem we have is the fact that I leave for Hogwarts on Saturday and Harry does next Wednesday."

Candace responded, "Whenever you are able to get this information is fine with me. Perhaps I could meet you in Hogsmeade one evening once you have it?"

"I would prefer to meet somewhere outside of easy reach of Albus. I would also like to avoid being seen in the Ministry as well. Perhaps somewhere in the muggle world?"

"I'm sure we can make that happen."

Candace added, "One last thing, Mr. Potter. Since you do not have a guardian of record we need to rectify that as soon as possible. With the first two preferences of your parents are unavailable, I think it would be in your best interest to consider the Tonks as potential guardians. I realize you do not know them, but I believe they would be your best choice."

"Do I have to decide today?"

"No. Perhaps Mr. Lupin can arrange a meeting before you go back to Hogwarts."

"I will consult with Andromeda and Ted and see what we can arrange. Thank you for your concern for Harry."

After answering a few additional questions they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry was drained and was looking forward to doing something that he hoped would be a bit pleasurable.


	17. The Potter Vault

**A/N: I have to admit, this is one of my favorite chapters.**

17\. The Potter Vault

Sirius was waiting for them when they returned, anxious to hear what happened at the Ministry. Once he saw how beat Harry was, he insisted on lunch first to give the boy a chance to catch his breath. They went down to the pub for lunch. Harry played with his food more than eating it but managed to eat about half of it, mostly as a response to the nudges he was getting from Snuffles. They went back to Harry's room so they could tell Sirius what happened. Filling him in on the highlights, Sirius had to agree with all of the suggestions.

"Andy and Ted would be good guardians for you, Harry, but I'm glad you asked not to make an immediate decision," he saw the sudden downcast look on Harry's face, "BUT I fully intend to fill that role for you." That got a smile from Harry.

"We're going to the vault shortly and I'm going to see if Griphook would be able to arrange to have the Dursley house evaluated. I'm sure they will be able to determine a way to check both the outside and inside of the house without arousing suspicion. Other than the Heir ring and journals, is there anything else you think we should look for while we're there?" said Remus.

"Not specifically. See what information it has about Potter Manor. Hopefully you can find the name of the head elf or other information which will allow entry. While you're out in the Alley you might check with Gerald to see if he has some time tomorrow morning to talk."

"Thank you for the reminder, Padfoot. Harry, are you ready to go?"

"Sure."

They first took Snuffles out for a quick walk and then returned him to the room before heading out to Gringotts. They walked in and asked if Griphook was available. After a short wait, Marspok arrived and took them to Griphook's office.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin how may I be of service to you today?"

"We were wondering if the goblins had a way to inspect the wards at Privet Drive as well as check the Dursleys for charms."

"Of course. This would be a relatively easy task. When do you propose for us to do this?"

Harry answered, "Saturday or Sunday would be best since Uncle Vernon will be home from work. I have no idea if Dudley will be there or not. He'll probably be out with his gang terrorizing the neighborhood."

"I believe we can arrange this. Once we have completed this task, how would you like us to notify you of the results?"

"I would like you to send a copy to me at Hogwarts, a copy to Gerald Howe who is again the Potter solicitor and a copy to Amelia Bones at the ministry, however, I think it would be wise to use a post owl from the post office rather than a Gringotts owl for me," answered Remus.

"We also have access to unmarked owls."

"Of course. If this would be convenient for you then."

"Certainly. Is there anything else I may do for you gentlemen?"

"I went over the Potter holdings with Harry and we see no need to make any changes at this time. We are indebted to the goblins for their astute management. I believe that is all of our business with you today. We would like to go to the main Potter vault. Would Marspok be available to take us?"

"Certainly."

Harry suddenly remembered something he was going to ask Griphook, "How do we go about salvaging a 70 foot long basilisk?"

"You know where one is?"

"It's what was in the Chamber of Secrets that was opened last year."

If they could have, Griphook's eyes would have been galleon signs. "The goblins are experts in salvaging magical beasts. There hasn't been a basilisk spotted in Great Britain in several hundred years. I'm sure we could work out an equitable agreement. Do you have possession of this beast?"

"I heard that the person who kills it has right of conquest. I killed it last year with the sword of Gryffindor."

Again Griphook's eyes grew wide, "Are you certain that someone else hasn't claimed it such as Albus Dumbledore?"

"I am the only one who can enter the Chamber. It requires a Parselmouth to gain entry. Oh, and there's also a shed skin that's something like sixty feet long."

"The goblins would be happy to assist you with this. It would be most profitable for both of us. I will talk with those who are expert in this field and provide you with a proposal."

"Thank you. Please don't rush. It would probably be best to wait until we are both at Hogwarts," said Remus.

"Of course. Good day gentlemen."

Marspok led them to a cart and they headed down into the caves housing the vaults. Harry had never been this far down before. Once they stopped, Marspok got out and instructed Harry to place his hand on the vault door. That would key him to the vault."

"We will probably be here for an hour or two. We would hate to hold you from your other work. Is there a way to summon you when we are ready to leave?" said Remus

"A goblin is required to be present when a vault is open."

The two men entered the vault and Harry looked around in awe. There were piles of galleons and other coins, armor, rare jewels and jewelry, books and portraits. The first thing they came to was a pedestal. Harry looked at it and noticed there was a ring in a box sitting on it.

"Ah, that should be the Heir ring, Harry. It goes on the ring finger of your right hand. Once you assume full responsibility for the House, you'll wear the Potter Head ring."

Harry reached for the ring and slipped it onto his finger. The ring automatically sized to fit Harry's finger. He felt another wave of warmth spread over him.

"Wow!"

"What happened, Harry?"

"I felt warm all over. It wasn't as intense as the one after the binding was removed but enough so that I noticed it."

"Some family rings provide certain protections for the wearer such as protecting them from some lower level curses and hexes. They can also provide some limited protection for your mind so that someone skilled in Legillimency won't be able to easily break into your mind."

"What's Legillimency? Is that like reading my mind?"

"Muggles might call it that, but it is much more. We should probably teach you Occlumency; it's a branch of magic which allows you to structure your thoughts so that if a Legillimens tries to invade they will only see what you want them to see. Albus is skilled in Legillimency and I do believe Severus is as well."

"You mean they've been reading my mind?"

"I don't know, but I think it would be best to protect you nonetheless."

While they had been talking, a piece of parchment replaced the ring box on the pedestal. Harry noticed it and asked, "What's that?"

"What's what, Harry?"

"That piece of parchment. It wasn't there before," and pointed to the pedestal.

"Interesting. Why don't you see what it is. I suspect it's a letter to you that could only be read once you claimed the Heir ring."

Harry reached for the parchment and began to read:

 _Dear Prongslet,_

 _If you are reading this then the worst has happened. We know that Voldemort is looking for us due to a prophecy that was made. We don't know the contents of the prophecy but apparently it involves you. Albus was adamant we go into hiding so we wrote this at the same time we filed our will with the goblins. We chose not to file one with the Ministry as there are spies all over the place and in these times, it's hard to tell who are your friends and who are your enemies. We can only hope that Sirius is there with you and guiding you on your responsibilities._

 _Hopefully, you are reading this as you prepare to go to Hogwarts. While your mother and I were Gryffindors, we will be proud of you regardless of which house you are sorted into, and yes, Sirius, even Slytherin. We can only encourage you to do your best. Professor McGonagall is the head of house for Gryffindor and we hope she has been providing you guidance and instruction while you were growing up. You can trust her._

 _If you will look among the portraits you will find one of us. We had it painted right after you were born. We placed it in the vault so that it didn't somehow get 'lost'. To activate it, place your hand over the nameplate. If you need to take us with you, tap your wand on the nameplate and it will shrink small enough to fit in your pocket._

 _To get to Potter Manor, just call for Cassie. She is the head Potter elf. I hope Sirius has been raising you somewhere besides Grimmauld Place. That place is as dark as can be._

 _I trust that Remus is helping you manage the Potter holdings. We are not so naïve to think that only wizard holdings are the right ones. We have holdings in the muggle world so that you can learn how to manage in both worlds. Many wizards ignore the muggle world but that is their folly._

 _Now, what are you waiting for? I want to meet my son!_

 _Dad_

As Harry read the letter he became quite eager to get to the end. A portrait of his parents! He handed the parchment over to Remus, but when he looked at it, it was blank, "Your father must have used a special charm on this so that only you can read it."

"Oh, well, he said the head elf is Cassie and she'll take us to Potter Manor."

"Excellent! I suspect there was more."

"Yeah, let's look over there," said Harry, pointing to the group of paintings in a corner of the room. They started looking through them until they got to the sixth one.

"Oh my. James and Lily."

"Yeah. They said to put my hand on the nameplate and they will activate. I can touch it with my wand and it will shrink so we can take it with us."

They pulled the painting out where they could both see it and Harry placed his hand on the nameplate as instructed. The people in it appeared to have been sleeping deeply and it took a few moments for them to realize they were awake.

Lily spoke first, "Harry! You're finally here! Let me get a good look at you!"

James was next, "Moony! What are you doing here with Harry. I thought it would be Padfoot."

"That is a very long story Prongs."

"But he's alive, right?"

"Yes, but it's complicated. I think we should wait until we have you in a different place before we explain it all to you."

"Oh Harry dear, you look older than eleven. How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Why did it take you so long to find us?"

"That's part of the 'it's complicated' that Remus was talking about."

"This sounds like a story we definitely want to hear, right Lily?"

"Yes dear."

Remus spoke, "We don't have a whole lot of time right now so can you help us find a few things? First we'd like to find Lily's journals so we can pass the one she asked us to over to Severus."

"How is Severus?" asked Lily.

Harry laughed, "Mean and crotchety!"

"What do you mean? I know he has always had some problems with his temper, but usually he was provoked." She gave James a hard stare.

"Well, he's the Potions Professor and Slytherin Head of House at Hogwarts and doesn't seem to like me very much."

"What is he doing at Hogwarts! He should have his own laboratory for research!"

"I don't know what happened, but he's there."

"You'll have to let me talk to him. I'll set him straight!" Fire flashed in her eyes.

"I'd like to see that conversation," said James.

"James Potter! You'd better behave yourself! Now, we put my journals over with the other books. If you look on the third shelf you'll find a green journal. That's the one to take to him."

Remus went over to the shelves and found the one she spoke of and held it up for her to check.

"Yes, that's the one. Thank you Remus."

"Dad, I've got the ring. Remus said it might have some protections or something on it?"

"Yes. There is a mild Occlumency shield. It won't protect you from a very skilled and determined Legillimens but for people like Albus all he'll see is you on a broom flying and enjoying yourself or you in class studying. It will also protect you from most low level charms. Never take it off. If someone wants to put a tracking charm on you or anything else along those lines it will protect you from it. Once you get to Potter Manor it will give you access to the ward stone to allow people in. Whatever you do, do not key Albus Dumbledore into the wards!"

"Why?"

"We suspected for some time that he was manipulating the war for his own benefit. As I said in the letter, we were made aware that there was a prophecy regarding you which is what Albus used to convince us to go into hiding. There should be a record of it in the Department of Mysteries. I would recommend you take Remus and Sirius with you when you view it. Did you have the Head of the DMLE at the will reading?"

"Yes."

"Is Peter in custody?"

Remus replied, "That's another part of the 'it's complicated' information. However, Amelia Bones was at the reading and we've been in further contact with her."

James danced around in a little circle, "You mean Barty Crouch is no longer the head? That's great! I can't wait to hear that story! Amelia was a great boss and I trust her to do the right thing."

"Prongs, we probably need to go. Is there anything besides the journal and your portrait that we should take with us?"

"No. We can talk about other things later but these are the key things for now. We'll talk soon, right?"

"Yeah Dad. Real soon."

"I love you son," said Lily, "and thank you Remus."

Harry tapped his wand on the nameplate and the portrait shrunk down to matchbook size. They exited the vault and Marspok took them back upstairs After leaving Gringotts they made a stop by the solicitor's office to set an appointment with him for the next day. He was available at ten.

Sirius was excited to see them. He looked at Harry's hand and said, "Good! You got the ring. Never let that off your hand, not even to bathe. What else did you find?"

Remus replied, "Quite a few things, but this is not the place to discuss it. I think we should go to Potter Manor where it will be a bit more secure."

Sirius' eyes got wide, "Really? That bad?"

"No, not bad, just complicated," Remus thought he was using that word much too often today.

"What do we need to do?"

"I just need to call Cassie, the head elf, and we should be able to get there."

Suddenly Sirius remembered the elf. Evidently some sort of _confundus_ charm had been on them for access to Potter Manor. Once Harry said the elf's name, they recognized her immediately. Both men looked toward Harry expectantly. Harry shrugged and spoke, "Cassie."

An elf popped into view wearing a starched tea towel with the Potter crest and said, "Who be calling Cassie?" as she looked around the room. "Master Sirius? Master Remus? Oh! Master Harry! There you be! We elves have been waiting for you. How may Cassie serve you?" as she bowed low to the ground.

Harry laughed at the antics of elves, "Cassie, we'd like to go to Potter Manor if it's no trouble."

"It be no problem for Cassie, Master Harry. Do Master Sirius and Master Remus want to go too?"

"Yes. Could you take the three of us?" asked Remus.

"Of course! Just hold tight to Cassie and we be there."

All three wizards put a hand on Cassie and they were quickly taken to the sitting room of Potter Manor. Harry looked around in wonder, "WOW! This is incredible! Thank you Cassie!"

"Master need not to be thanking Cassie."

Sirius spoke up, "Cassie, could you show Harry where the ward stone is so he can get keyed into the wards and then add our access?"

Cassie took Harry by the hand to the cellar. She told him to put his hand on a spot on the wall near a cupboard. Once he did that, the cupboard opened and the ward stone was revealed.

"Master Harry just be putting his hand on the ward stone and it will give you control of the wards."

Harry put his hand on the stone and once again felt a wave of warmth fall over him. He immediately knew what he needed to do to key Sirius and Remus in. Once that was done they headed back upstairs.

"Does Master Harry want to inspect the house? We be taking very good care of it!"

"If you could just give us a quick tour today. We'll be coming back later for a longer visit. I just found out about the house today."

Cassie showed them around the ground floor. There was a ballroom, main dining room, family dining room, kitchen and a library to rival Hogwarts as well as the sitting room. There were also two bathrooms for when they had guests. The first floor held the master suite and six other bedrooms as well as a sitting room and bathrooms. The second floor also had six bedrooms with a sitting room for general use. They headed back down to the cellar again where there was a fully functional potions laboratory and training room. Once they were back in the sitting room, Harry asked, "Cassie, how many elves are here?"

"There be six of us. We take care of Potter Manor, Potter Villa and Potter Chalet. Master James said he didn't need anyone to take care of Potter Hall," her ears drooped at the last.

"That's OK Cassie. Remus is now responsible for Potter Hall. We have also gotten the services of another elf."

"Master Harry be replacing Cassie?" the elf's features drooped even further.

"Oh no! Dobby is just a bit different."

"What is Master Malfoy's Dobby doing working for you?"

"He's no longer Malfoy's elf. He freed him."

"Oh no! He be a bad elf!"

"No, Cassie. Dobby helped save my life and Mr. Malfoy was not happy about it. Let me bring him here."

"Dobby." The little elf popped in.

"Harry be calling Dobby?"

"Hi Dobby. This is Potter Manor and this is Cassie. She's the Potter family head elf."

"Harry is replacing Dobby?" tears started falling from his eyes.

"No Dobby. I just found out about Potter Manor and Cassie. She knows you are responsible for Potter Hall. I know there probably isn't enough work for you there right now, so if Cassie has something she needs you to do I want you to help her. Is that OK, Dobby?"

"Yes Harry!" and the little elf hugged Harry's legs, "Harry Potter is a great wizard!"

Sirius broke in, "Cassie, is there anything you need from Harry right now? Are you able to maintain all of the properties and get enough food for you and the other elves?"

"Yes Master Sirius. Cassie be fine. We have everything we need."

"If you do need anything you need to let us know. Remus is the Steward for the Potter family until Harry comes of age. If you need anything you just let him know. Both he and Harry will be at Hogwarts this year."

"Very good Master Sirius."

"One other thing, please don't let anyone know that I was here right now. We still have to get a few things straight about my status."

"Oh no Master Sirius. Cassie never tell the family's secrets! Cassie be a good elf!" glaring at Dobby.

"I know you are. I just wanted to be sure. Now, do we want to stay here or go to the library for the unveiling of the secrets?"

Remus replied, "I believe the library would be fine."

Harry asked, "Cassie, would you mind bringing us tea in the library please?"

"Of course Master Harry. Cassie be bringing you tea."

Harry looked at Dobby, "Thank you for coming, Dobby. We'll be at Potter Hall in a few hours for dinner if that's OK with you."

"Dobby have dinner ready for you!" With that the little elf popped away.

They walked into the library and Harry pulled the painting of his parents from his robes and tapped the name plate. He propped it up on a chair where it was easier for all of them to see each other.

"Padfoot!" shouted James, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"James, Lils, I've missed you too!" replied Sirius.

Cassie brought in a tea service. She looked at what was propped up on the chair and almost dropped it, "Master James! Mistress Lily!"

"Hello Cassie. I see you are taking care of Harry."

"Master Harry just come today. Cassie will take good care of Master Harry!"

"I know you will. Now, let's hear about all of the secrets you have to tell. I take it Cassie showed you to the ward stone?"

"Harry answered, "Yes. I've made sure Sirius and Remus are keyed in as well."

"Did you make sure the old coot can't get in?" asked James.

"How do I do that?"

"Put your hand on the ward stone and ask for a list of people with access. If there is someone on the list you don't want, just say 'Delete Dumbledore.' It might be easier if you just wipe the list clean and start over. You probably don't want everybody and their brother having access. To do that, put your hand on the ward stone and say 'Delete access to all except Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.' You may want to take a look at the list first before you clear it."

"OK. I guess I can do that."

"Now, tell us what has happened that you're all hiding secrets."

"We'll have to give you the short version now," said Sirius, "but we'll fill in all of the details in the next few days."

Sirius explained about going after Peter and what happened to him. As soon as Harry started his tale and told them Dumbledore left him on his aunt and uncle's front porch overnight in November they were both livid!

Lily exclaimed, "If I ever meet up with him in the afterlife he's going to wish he went to the other place! We specified we did not want you to go to Petunia! What possessed that man to do that?"

"He told me it's something to do with blood wards and mum's sacrifice for me."

"He WHAT!" asked James.

"Yeah, he said that because of mum giving her life for me it created a blood protection over me. As long as I live with the Dursleys it protects me from Death Eaters or anybody else who wants to harm me. Well at least anybody from the outside."

"That's ridiculous," said James, "he's just feeding you a line so he can justify what he did 'for the greater good.' I hope you're getting the goblins to check the wards on the house."

Remus replied, "We talked to them today and they are going to send a team out to check the wards as well as check the Dursleys for any charms placed on them."

"Why do you need to check for charms?" asked Lily.

"Because we found three on Harry when we had the goblins check him over." replied Remus. "Additionally we found that Dumbledore had put another binding on Harry's magic."

"How bad?" Lily asked, concerned.

"He restricted Harry to only 60 percent of his magical core."

"I can't wait for you to take us back to Hogwarts with you. I want to give that man a choice piece of my mind!"

Remus interjected, "Calm down Lily. Let Harry finish his tale and then we need to tell you about the Marauder's plan for the rat."

Harry resumed his tale hitting just the highlights because it would take too long to give them the full version. Finding out that Harry had faced Voldemort two more times frightened them both."

"And you say Harry has one of these horcruxes in him now? How do you remove it?"

"The goblins are working on it. If it can be removed safely, they will tell us. We met with a team of curse breakers and dark arts masters a few days ago," responded Remus.

"And just where have you been in all of this Remus John Lupin?" asked Lily.

Remus began his part of the story. It was much shorter than the other two. He then told them about the plan to bring the Weasleys to London and capture the rat."

"Amelia is doing everything in her power to help us bring this to a close. She is also taking the need to keep it quiet very seriously. Hopefully, by the end of the week, Peter will be in custody and Sirius will be cleared. I intend to see that rat kissed," continued Remus.

Sirius cut in, "I know we have much more to talk about but we need to be getting back to the Leaky Cauldron. 'Snuffles' needs a walk so nobody will suspect Harry is harboring a fugitive. We're going to Potter Hall for dinner and to work with Harry's magic before he goes back to Hogwarts. Once we're there we'll bring you back out so you can watch. I'm sure you will have some insight into this, Prongs."

"We will see you soon then. Please make sure you delete Albus from the wards before you leave."

The three headed back downstairs once again to the ward stone. In the time they had, they just performed the access denial for Dumbledore, leaving the more lengthy analysis for later. They asked Cassie to take them back to Harry's room at the Leaky Cauldron. They took 'Snuffles' for a quick walk before taking the floo to Potter Hall while Sirius had Dobby come and get him.

Dinner was even more extravagant than previous. Evidently Dobby was trying to prove that he was the best elf he could be, fearing Cassie would take over his job protecting his Harry. It didn't take them long to figure out what he was doing so they called him in and reassured him that he was not being replaced. The look of relief on his face was almost comical.

Harry brought his third year Charms and Transfiguration books as Remus had requested. After taking out the portrait of his parents and resizing it, they began working on the different spells all the while talking with James and Lily as if they were standing in the same room. Before stopping for the night, they gave the elder Potters a list of the appointments they had scheduled for the next day. They promised to go back to the Manor and do a more extensive review of the access when they had more time. James told them that he would think of which books in the main Potter Library would be of help for them. They repeated their trip back to the Leaky Cauldron, gave 'Snuffles' another walk and got ready for bed. Before Harry went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, Sirius asked him to restore the portrait of his parents so he could talk to them.

"I know you just want to talk about me behind my back," Harry said with a grin.

"Why would you think that? I need to consult with Prongs about a suitable prank or two to play on you and Moony."

Harry went to sleep that night with a wide smile on his face.


	18. I Can See Clearly Now

**A/N: I can't take credit for the eyeglass frame design. I realized after I'd written it that I'd read it in another fic, so let me give credit to zx14ninja and their story "You Don't See Me".**

 **18\. I Can See Clearly Now**

After breakfast the group set off into Diagon Alley for Harry's appointment with the oculist. The office was on a side street near the solicitor's office. There was a large pair of spectacles in the window as a bit of an advertisement. Harry looked at them and they winked back at him. He smiled as they entered.

"Madam Johnson, this is the young man I was telling you about."

"Very good. If you'll just have a seat in this chair we can begin. Now … Oh my word. Mr. Potter!"

"Madam Johnson, please call me Harry."

"Of course, Harry. This should be very simple. I'm going to wave my wand over your eyes so I can determine the nature of your vision problem and then we can see about finding the right prescription for you."

"Can't you fix my eyes with a spell or potion?"

"Not until you are older. Your eyes are still growing and the repair can only be done once. Come back when you're twenty-one and we should be able to take care of it once and for all. Now just sit quietly. This should only take about five minutes."

She waved her wand over Harry's eyes. She asked him to look at all four corners of the compass. She was right, it didn't take much time at all.

"You are definitely James' son. He had the same problem you do. Now I'm going to put a pair of temporary glasses on you and adjust it to the proper prescription. Tell me when you can read that sign over there. We'll start with your right eye first." She waved her wand over his left eye and the lens turned black. She tapped her wand on the right lens and gave him a minute to adjust. When he didn't say he could read the sign, she made another adjustment and waited.

"Wow! It says 'My what green eyes you have."

They all laughed, "Good, good. Now let me make a small adjustment to see if it's better or worse." She tapped the lens again and asked, "Now?"

"It was better the other way." She tapped it again and it reverted back to the previous settings. She then tapped the left lens and it became clear then tapped the right one and it turned black. Another tap on the left lens set the prescription.

Harry immediately read, "'You need to comb your hair'. Just what I need, a sign with a sense of humor."

"We appear to have your far vision corrected. I'm going to give you something to read. Just hold it like you would one of your school books. Let me know how it looks as far as clarity."

She handed him a book called _The Tales of Beadle the Bard_. It was turned to a story called _Babbity Rabbit and the Hopping Pot_. Harry pulled it up to where he normally held his books but realized he didn't need to have it that close so he moved it out just a bit.

"This is great! The letters have always looked a bit blurry before."

"It should also help your penmanship now that you are not having to compensate for poor eyesight. Your hand and eye try to adjust so that you can read it best. I'm sure your other professors will be thankful," said Remus.

"You wouldn't happen to be doing this for your own benefit, would you Remus?"

"Possibly."

"Now that we know what prescription you need, you need to pick out frames," interrupted Madam Johnson.

"Do you have what the muggles call contact lenses?"

"I do, but again, this is something you'll have to wait for. You take Potions I assume, Harry."

"Yes Ma'am."

"What do you think would happen to something placed in your eye if someone brewed a potion incorrectly and gave off acidic fumes?"

"Oh, I see. That makes sense."

They walked over to the frame selection. Harry looked at the assortment with a look of confusion on his face, "Maybe I should have waited until Hermione was here. I'm hopeless. About the only thing I know is that I don't want something like the ones I had."

Remus picked up a pair but put it back when 'Snuffles' snorted. Harry picked up a different pair and got the same reaction.

"It appears your dog wants to help you select your frames for you," laughed the oculist.

"OK, if you're so smart, you pick, you silly dog!" laughed Harry.

Snuffles walked back and forth a few minutes then sat up on his hind legs and put his nose on a pair of gold wire frames with tiny snitches on them. Harry picked them up and tried them on for them all. Snuffles barked approval.

"They really do make you look different, Harry," said Remus.

"Just what I need, to look different."

"I meant that it is different from your current look and I do like them. It fits in nicely with your Quidditch position too."

"A very good choice. Now let's discuss which charms you want on them. Self-repairing frames and unbreakable lenses come standard. I would recommend _impervius_ and glare proof since you play Quidditch."

"Those sound about right. I can't think of anything else, can you Remus?"

"No."

"How about you Snuffles?"

The dog shook his head.

"It will take me about an hour or so to make these up for you. If you'd like, you can wear the temporary ones while you go about your business."

"That's great. Thank you Madam Johnson."

They exited the oculist's office and headed out into Diagon Alley.

"I need to go to Eyelops to get some more owl treats. I'm running low," said Harry.

"Of course. We have some time before we need to go to Gerald's office."

They walked down to Eyelops Owl Emporium where Harry purchased a bag of owl treats. He looked around at the shop but didn't see anything else he needed. While in there, a small boreal owl landed on Remus' shoulder and started grooming his hair.

Harry laughed, "I think you've found a friend."

"Well I do need one with the way things are going. So, would you like to be my owl, little one?"

The owl hooted and nipped Remus lightly on the ear. Remus paid for the owl and some treats. He went ahead and bought a cage although Potter Hall had an area for owls complete with perches. The owl hopped into the cage and they left the shop. They walked over to the solicitor's office for their appointment. Remus apologized to the assistant for the owl but apparently it was not an unusual occurrence. They were quickly ushered into Gerald Howe's office. Once the door was closed and appropriate privacy wards put up, Snuffles transformed back into Sirius.

"Gentlemen, it is good to see you. What can I do for you today?"

"We have set the trap to catch the rat. If all goes well, Peter Pettigrew will be in a cell at the Ministry Friday afternoon," said Sirius.

"Do you mind telling me how you are going to do this?"

Remus and Sirius recounted the story of getting the Weasleys to London and the plan to trap the rat at Magical Menagerie.

"That is a very clever plan. How can I be of assistance?"

Remus answered, "Once Peter is safely tucked in at the Ministry and it's been announced through the _Daily Prophet_ and the Wizarding Wireless, we'd like to let it settle for a day or two then have Sirius come and turn himself in. That's the tricky part. I'll be at Hogwarts by then so we're going to have to come up with a way for you to get him and then coordinate with Amelia. I think she suspects I know where he is but is playing along."

"Harry, would you be available for a breakfast meeting Monday morning?"

"Well, I was planning to have breakfast with the Weasleys," then it finally hit him what Mr. Howe was asking. He blushed, then said, "Sure."

"Why don't you two come to my office about eight then I'll floo over to the Ministry and bring Amelia back here. She will probably bring a couple of Aurors with her."

"As long as she is willing to be fair," said Sirius.

"I believe we can be sure of that. Once they realize that they imprisoned the Head of an Ancient and Noble House wrongly, I believe they will be falling all over themselves to make it right. I'm sure the reparations for twelve years of false imprisonment will be very nice, not that you have need of the funds."

"Believe me, you will be worth every knut of your fee if this works out as we planned it."

Remus then asked, "Have you made progress on getting the Potter files back from the other firm?"

"They are suppose to have them to me by Friday. Believe me, they tried to put up a fight but I asked them to prove Dumbledore had the legal authority to transfer the account to them in the first place. When they realized they just assumed he had the permission, I reminded them what happens when you assume."

"We have the goblins performing an inspection of the Dursley home to confirm the wards on the house as well as to see if any charms were placed on the house or the Dursleys themselves. I have asked them to forward a copy of the report to you. Hopefully it will be completed this weekend," said Remus.

"If it is as you suspect, I believe we will have quite a few charges to prefer against the Chief Warlock."

"Do you need anything more from me before I leave for Hogwarts on Saturday?"

"No. I think everything is all set."

With that, they took their leave, stopping by the oculist to pick up Harry's glasses, then briefly for lunch. When they got back to the Leaky Cauldron, Remus called for Dobby to take the owl back to Potter Hall. With that task complete, they called for Cassie and headed back to Potter Manor. They updated James and Lily on the latest information on the plan to free Sirius. They were able to expand on the information about Harry's time at Hogwarts too.

Sirius chuckled, "Harry, tell your parents about your sorting."

"They aren't interested in that."

James spoke up, "If Padfoot is laughing, this must be something we definitely need to hear."

Harry told the tale of the Sorting Hat's dilemma on where to place him. James burst out laughing, "Can you imagine Snape's reaction if Harry had been sorted into his house? That would have been the greatest prank ever!"

"It's not funny! Can you imagine what they would have been saying about me being the Heir of Slytherin if I'd been sorted into that house? It was bad enough as it was!"

"We don't mean to laugh at you, Prongslet, but you do have to admit it would have put a twist in everybody's knickers. So you don't have a snake for a familiar?"

"No," and he glared at his father.

Before they went down to the training room, James showed Harry how to work the master index of the library then gave him some titles to take with him. He also showed him how to find the books on Occlumency. In the training room they worked with Harry some more on controlling his magic. He had become more comfortable with the feel of his magic. He still tended to overpower some of his spells, but his transfiguration attempts were much easier and smoother. He was also better able to understand the theory behind these spells. From there they went back to the ward stone and looked at the complete list of people with unrestricted access. Although the list appeared long, the majority of the people were no longer with them. They quickly removed Peter's access.

"What about Professor McGonagall?"

"I think for now she is fine," said Remus.

After studying the list a bit more they all came to the conclusion that between the majority of the people being dead and the rest of them having no need to have entry since Charlus Potter was gone, it would be best to just start over. The next question was who they should put on there.

The final list they came up with included:

Remus Lupin

Sirius Black

Minerva McGonagall

All of the Weasleys

All of the Grangers

Neville Longbottom

Augusta Longbottom

Andromeda Tonks

Ted Tonks

Nymphadora Tonks

Gerald Howe

With that done, they went back upstairs. They had asked Cassie to prepare dinner for them which she was more than happy to do. She was a much happier elf now that she had her Master Harry back. When they had finished Harry had a thought.

"Cassie, you said there were five other elves besides yourself. I'd like to meet them please."

Cassie's eyes grew wide, "Master Harry wants to meet all the elves?"

"Of course! I want to make sure all of you are happy."

Cassie snapped her fingers and five other elves popped in. Cassie introduced them, "This be Tizzy; he be responsible for the grounds. This be Hopper, he be responsible for the house. This be Jillie; she be responsible for Potter Chalet. This be Pixie; she be responsible for Potter Villa. This be Rizzo; he be the head cook."

Each elf bowed low as they were introduced. Harry walked over and shook each elf's hand as they were introduced.

"Hi. I'm Harry. I know that you normally refer to the owners and guests as Master and Mistress but I would really appreciate it if you would call me Harry. I want you to be happy here. This is your home more than it is mine. If there is anything you need, I want you to let either me or Remus Lupin know. I don't have time right now to visit the other two properties because I go back to Hogwarts next week but I hope to during the Christmas holidays. Before we leave, is there anything I can do for you?"

They all looked gobsmacked. Cassie finally spoke up, "Nnnno Mas… er Harry. We elves be just fine."

Harry knew it would take time for the elves to become accustomed to addressing him as Harry. "I don't think I'll be able to come back before I leave for Hogwarts, but thank you for your service to the House." With introductions over, they asked Cassie to take them back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Although Harry was tired, he knew he still needed to complete his potions homework. Remus went back to Potter Hall while Sirius stayed a while longer. Harry looked at the disorganized mess that was his first attempt at completing the assignment and just tore it up. He pulled out the two books Remus had given him from the library at Potter Hall and read over the applicable areas. With his Potions book out for additional reference Harry got a clean piece of parchment and started to write. About an hour later he was done and handed the finished product to Sirius to review.

"This is so much better, pup! Not only can I read it much more easily, it actually makes much more sense. You provide appropriate examples and cover the points you needed to make but don't blow it up with a lot of worthless hot air. I'm impressed!"

"It just made more sense this time. I don't know what was different but I just 'got it' this time."

"Apparently the block on your magic affected your learning ability as well. Hopefully this will be the start of a new you at Hogwarts. You may even give Hermione a run for her money."

"Nobody can beat Hermione. I bet her Potions homework is three times as long as mine."

"But what kind of grade does she make as the result of the additional extraneous information?"

"It's Snape. What do you think?"

"Well, let's say it's Transfiguration."

"She gets an O, but it usually comes with a comment about brevity."

"Right. Your professors assign a particular length to ensure you cover the topic sufficiently but they also do it for themselves. Say you were assigned an essay of twelve inches. If everybody in the class turned in one twice as long it would take the professor twice as long to grade it. They do this for their own sanity too."

"I never thought about it that way. Maybe somebody needs to explain it to Hermione that way."

"I suspect Remus will be having that conversation with her shortly after the start of classes. He's not going to want to spend extra time reading a book."

"Good luck. Oh. One thing I wanted to talk to you about. I want to do something for the Weasleys and Hermione now that I know I'm not locked in to just my trust vault. I've tried to get the Weasleys to let me pay for some things when I stayed with them but they refused. I know they don't have a lot and having five kids at Hogwarts at the same time can't be cheap. I know Ron gets embarrassed about having to get things second-hand. He was using his brother Charlie's old wand until it broke last year. I hope they can get a new wand for him this year. I just don't know how to do it and not make them uncomfortable."

"You have a good heart, you know that Harry? I think I may be able to help there. Once I'm cleared and have full access to my vaults I can set up a scholarship fund for the Weasleys and Hermione. I can reimburse them for this year's tuition. I can also include funds for books as well as some spending money for each of them."

"That would be brilliant! Thank you!"

"Well kiddo. You need some rest and so do I. I'll see you at the usual time tomorrow."

"If I know Hermione she'll be here before nine."

Sirius called for Dobby and went back to Potter Hall. Harry took a shower and fell into bed. He was asleep shortly after.


	19. Muggles and Wizards

**A/N: This is another of my favorite chapters.**

 **19\. Muggles and Wizards**

Harry was waiting for Sirius when he arrived. They went downstairs for breakfast. Harry's appetite was improving with the addition of the potions, so he had eggs with sausages and hashed potatoes as well as several slices of toast with jam. Harry usually preferred bacon but he noticed how Snuffles preferred the sausages so he made sure to get a couple extra for him. Remus came in as they were finishing.

"So, what do you want to do first? Diagon Alley or the muggle shops?"

"I'd prefer to stay in Diagon Alley myself," said Harry.

"Well, you're going into muggle London whether you like it or not, pup. Your wardrobe is atrocious, such as it is," said Remus.

Harry was spared from answering the question when he found himself full of a certain bushy haired witch.

"Harry! It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Hermione!"

"I don't know if you remember my parents Ian and Michelle."

Harry got up and shook their hands, "Good to see you Dr. and Dr. Granger. Let me introduce Remus Lupin. He is the Steward for the Potter family and is going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year."

After handshakes all around they moved to a larger table. Snuffles gave Harry a tug on his sleeve.

Hermione asked, "Harry, what's a steward do?"

Remus replied, "A steward in the wizarding world is someone who is appointed to look after a person or family's financial and legal matters. I was very close friends with Harry's parents."

"But why now?"

"That's part of the stuff I have to talk to you about tomorrow. Oh! I almost forgot. This is Snuffles. He sort of adopted me. He may look big but he's really a big softy."

Hermione petted his head and scratched him behind the ears. Snuffles was eating it up.

"He's a handsome dog, Harry." Snuffles puffed up his chest and you could swear he was grinning.

"You said you already had your books for this year? How long have you been here, Harry?"

"Almost two weeks."

"WHAT! You've been here for two weeks and you didn't tell me? What are you doing here? Did you leave the Dursley's? Why didn't you let me know? You could have stayed with us! Are those new glasses?"

"Slow down Hermione! Breathe. I have a whole lot to tell you but most of it needs to wait until tomorrow when Ron is here. It's a long story and I'd like to only tell it once. Trust me, it will be worth your wait."

"So I need to get my books and replenish my potions kit. I also need to go to Scribblus and get more parchment, quills and ink. And I told you about going to Magical Menagerie but I'll wait until tomorrow when Ron's here. Oh, but we need to go to Gringotts and exchange pounds for galleons first. So what do you need to do?"

Remus answered before Harry could, "Actually, we have a special task we'd like you to help us with. It appears Harry is in need of muggle clothes that actually fit him. I've already ensured his wizard wardrobe has been upgraded accordingly, but we thought you might assist us in this area. I'm not quite as familiar with muggle stores as I am wizard ones."

Ian laughed, "You seriously asked two women if they want to take him shopping for a makeover? You don't know what you have gotten yourself into."

"Yes, I do, which is why I asked for help," Remus grinned.

Michelle spoke for the first time, "So, you want to know if we'd like to spend an hour in Diagon Alley or several hours in a department store outfitting a young man who doesn't want to be there? Of course we'd like to help Harry out! If I might ask, what budget are we talking about?"

Harry didn't want to answer that question so Remus did, "Actually, his budget is pretty flexible. He has a muggle credit card tied directly to his account at Gringotts. The main thing is to get him enough clothes so that he isn't an embarrassment to himself or others. As to actually what to get him, I was going to ask you what you would recommend."

Hermione pulled out a quill and parchment and prepared to take notes. Everyone agreed on several pairs of jeans, a variety of t-shirts and pullovers, a couple of pairs of nice trousers and some matching shirts, several jumpers, sleepwear, underwear (Harry blushed at this item), a light jacket and a winter coat, a new pair of trainers, a pair of dress shoes and a pair of boots.

Ian whistled, "You do need a makeover! Do you have anything muggle beside what you have on now?"

Hermione answered for him, "All he has are hand-me-downs from his cousin who is at least four sizes larger than Harry. Apparently someone used a sizing charm on what you're currently wearing because I remember that shirt from last year and we could have gotten all of the second year boys under it."

"Gee, thanks Hermione."

"Well it's the truth!"

Michelle spoke up, "There are several places nearby we can go, but I think Marks & Spencer is the closest and will have everything you're looking for at a reasonable price. Our car is nearby. It would be easier for us to drive there, especially since we will have so many packages to bring back."

"Once we're out of sight of anyone I can shrink the packages down so they don't weigh us down," said Remus.

"Now that would be something I'd like to be able to do," said Michelle.

"You'd just try to sneak more packages by me that way, dear," said Ian.

Harry took Snuffles back to his room then returned. They all piled into the car and headed over to Marks & Spencer. Michelle led the way to the young men's department, "I just don't think you're quite ready for the men's department yet, Harry. No offence."

"None taken, Ma'am."

No sooner had they arrived than a salesman was there to help them. "Good morning. I am Roderick Stanton. How may I be of service to you today?"

Michelle took the lead, "My daughter's friend here had a fire at his house. He lost all of his clothes except for what he was wearing. His mother asked if we'd mind taking him shopping to replace what was lost. Mr. Lupin is with the insurance company that is handling their claim. We need to replace pretty much everything, within reason, of course. My daughter has made up a list to help guide us."

That last bit was to put the man on notice that they would not tolerate inflated prices or an overabundance of any one thing.

"I see, Madam. Shall we start from the top down, the bottom up or inside out?"

Hermione looked at her mother and they both said "inside out."

Mr. Stanton led the way to the underwear and socks area. Harry was totally embarrassed but Hermione and her mother looked like they did this every day. The first thing they needed to do was to determine exactly what sizes Harry would need. Once they had that figured out, they started piling packages in his arms.

"Wait! I don't need that many! I do know how to do laundry."

"Harry, trust me, you need this many. It always helps to have a couple of spare sets. You know what they say, 'suppose you were in an accident, do you have on clean underwear?'" said Michelle.

Harry was truly mortified by this. The men were standing back and watching the show. Ian said to Remus, "I'd like to have pity on the boy, but he did open Pandora's Box here."

"Well, actually I did, but he really is in need of these things. I could have taken him but I would have been out of my league trying to do this alone with him."

Harry started piling the clothes into a shopping trolley. Once they felt he had enough of each piece, including socks for daily wear as well as athletic socks, they moved over to casual wear. Once again Harry had to try on several pairs of jeans until they found the right size. They added three pairs of blue jeans, a pair of black jeans and a pair of brown corduroy pants to the trolley. From there they went to the dressier trousers and added a pair of black, gray and khaki sets to the growing heap. The next stop were the dress shirts. They matched each set of trousers with a shirt and also found one tie for him just in case he found himself in a situation where he might need one. Harry relaxed when they moved over to the t-shirts and fleeces. He ended up with six assorted t-shirts, two short sleeved polo shirts, a long sleeved polo shirt, four jumpers and two hoodies. He finished up the clothing part of the trip picking up two more pairs of sleep pants and shirts, robe and slippers. At each stop the clerk became even nicer and stumbled all over himself to ensure Harry was happy with his choices. Harry paid for his purchases and they were packaged up in multiple bags. The clerk offered to hold them until they were ready to depart.

The trip to the shoe department didn't take quite as long. Remus and Ian actually helped with these purchases. Since Remus was familiar with the weather at Hogwarts, he recommended Harry get a pair of light weight boots for the warmer months but a pair of lined ones for winter, especially since he was going to be taking Care of Magical Creatures. He was excited to have a pair of trainers that actually fit and didn't have the soles falling off. The pair of dress shoes completed the purchases. Harry had the clerk throw his old trainers out and he walked out wearing his new ones.

They went back to pick up the shopping trolley. They didn't notice that Roderick had slipped in a package of handkerchiefs. He once again thanked them for their business and hoped they would be back again soon. Harry explained that he was leaving for his boarding school in Scotland next week but would probably be back next summer to update his wardrobe. Ian got the car and they piled the packages in the boot. Once they got to a secluded spot, Remus took the packages and shrunk them down so that they all fit nicely in just one bag. Everyone was famished so the Grangers took them to their favorite fish and chips restaurant.

"Harry, how are you going to get all of that in your school trunk?" asked Hermione.

"That is something I've taken care of. I think you're going to want to see this for yourself. I'll show you when we get back to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Harry, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thank you for letting us help you with this," said Michelle.

"You don't know how much I appreciate your help Dr. Granger," Harry replied.

"As do I," chimed in Remus.

They soon found themselves back at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry led them up to his room so he could show Hermione his trunk and also get Snuffles for their trip into Diagon Alley. Once in the room, Remus resized all of the packages. Snuffles was eagerly sniffing them to see what Harry had bought.

Harry walked over to his trunk and motioned to Hermione, "You are going to love this, Hermione."

He opened the trunk to the first compartment, "This first compartment is for clothes. It has places to hang up your robes and cloaks and any other item that needs to be hung up. It also has shelves for your folding clothes and shoes."

"Well, that's certainly convenient, but how is this any different from a normal trunk?"

"The second compartment is how." Harry closed the first compartment and with a flourish opened the second compartment to show Hermione.

"This is a portable library compartment. Each time you put a book in it, it builds an index for the book. Just tell it which book you want and it will bring it to you. It even catalogs muggle books. Here, watch." Harry put his hand near the compartment and said, "Charms, Grade 2." The book hopped into his hand.

"This is incredible! Why did I not see this? What's in the third compartment?"

"That's for miscellaneous storage for things like parchment, quills, potions kits and anything else that doesn't fit in the other two. Now, let me show you a couple of other features I think you'll like." Harry closed the trunk and locked it.

"Pick up the trunk, Hermione."

"With everything in there, I'm not sure I can."

"Just give it a go."

Hermione reached over to grab the trunk expecting it to be heavy so she put some force into it. When it flew up into her hand. She looked at it and said, "A featherlight charm?"

"Yup. But that's not the best part. Put it back down."

She did and Harry tapped the Potter crest with his wand and it immediately shrunk to pocket size.

"Where has this been all my life? This is incredible! What is the crest on your trunk?"

"That's the Potter family crest."

"You've really found out a lot more about your family then?"

"Yes. It's part of the long story, but I know you'll be happy about it."

"So are you going to tell me where to get one of these?"

"Yes. Actually, I've got one for you and Ron." He turned to Remus who removed a shrunken trunk from his robes (he'd transfigured them back from the muggle clothes he'd changed them into).

"Oh Harry, That's nice of you, but you don't have to."

"I know, but I want to. Since I didn't have a family crest for you, I had the Gryffindor crest put on yours. I'll show you how to work the security charm later. This will keep your dorm mates from messing with your things."

Michelle was starting to get worried with everything he'd been buying, "Harry, are you sure you're not overspending your budget?"

Remus answered for him, "I've approved all of Harry's purchases. He is not overextending himself. Everything Harry has bought has been necessary. As long as he doesn't want a new broom, he'll be just fine."

"Remus! I have a very good broom, I'll have you know!"

"Exactly. Shall we gentlemen go downstairs? I think the ladies might need to use the powder room first."

Harry grabbed his day robe and put it on then the men and Snuffles headed downstairs to wait for the ladies.

"Hermione, you didn't tell me your friend was rich as well as cute," said Michelle.

"I didn't know it either. Apparently something important has happened that he doesn't want to discuss until we've got everyone together."

"You think we could get in on this secret? I'd love to know more about this young man."

"I'll find a way. Evidently he's going to tell us all at dinner tomorrow night."

The ladies walked back downstairs to join the men and Snuffles and headed into the Alley. They went to Gringotts first so the Grangers could exchange pounds into galleons. Hermione's parents were still in awe of the goblins.

Ian asked after their transaction was completed, "So what kind of bankers are the goblins?"

Remus replied, "The kind you want to manage your money. They are the shrewdest business managers I've ever met. If they can squeeze another knut out of something they will find it. If your accounts aren't making money then they aren't making money."

"I wonder if I could talk to them about opening an account," he laughed.

"It would be possible for Hermione to open one. I don't think the interest is taxable in the muggle world either."

"I will give that idea some thought."

Everyone agreed that Flourish and Blotts would be the last stop, knowing how much Hermione loved books and she didn't have to wonder how she would haul them to Hogwarts. They made the necessary stops at the apothecary and Scribblus Stationary shop. Harry made a quick stop at the trunk store to pick up some more hangars for himself and the others. While Hermione was picking up her books, Harry looked around for books on Occlumency. He finally found one entitled _Strengthening the Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Occlumency_ that should help him out along with the books from the Potter library. Harry met Hermione back at the checkout counter. He looked at the stack of books and asked her "Are you taking every elective this year?"

"Well, I am taking quite a few classes. I've already cleared it with Professor McGonagall. And what is with the book that eats everything? The clerk didn't want to go near them. They had to put them in a cage to keep them from tearing up the rest of the store. They're fighting with each other and getting paper shreds everywhere!"

"I don't know. Hagrid sent me one for my birthday. Oh, by the way, thank you so much for the broom servicing kit! I've already used it on my broom and it is excellent!"

"You're quite welcome. Wait, you said Hagrid sent you one for your birthday?"

"Yes."

"This cannot be good."

"Why?"

"You know as well as I do that Hagrid likes any kind of monster he can get his overly large hands on."

"Oh. I see what you mean. Well, we'll know when we get back to Hogwarts."

With all of their shopping done, they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. They took a table and ordered tea from Tom for everyone. Harry had a thought, "Drs Granger, would you be able to join us for dinner tomorrow night."

Michelle replied, "We wouldn't want to impose on you."

Remus answered, "No, we would love to have you. The location, however, is a secret," he said with a grin.

I don't see how we could turn you down. Thank you for the invitation. Where should we meet you?"

"It would probably be easier for you to meet us at the location as it is in muggle London. We'll have the Weasleys there as well. I may be a bit delayed but Harry knows the way. It's at Number 17 Dean Street. It's a magical location similar to the Leaky Cauldron so don't be surprised not to see the exact number."

"Mom and Dad, would it be possible for you to bring the rest of my books now that I have a way to store them? They wouldn't be cluttering up the house. I had to leave my copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ , and, after last year, I discovered it's a good book to have with me."

"I'll see, dear," replied Ian.

"What time would you like us there, Remus?" asked Michelle.

"I believe we were planning on meeting at seven. Correct, Harry?"

"Right. I'll make sure we leave the Leaky Cauldron about half six. It may take us a few minutes to get the Weasleys properly attired," chuckled Harry.

"We will meet you there. We close our surgery at five on Fridays so we should have no trouble being here then. Is there anything special you would like us to wear? Is this a fancy place?" asked Michelle.

Harry and Remus both laughed. Remus answered, "No, not fancy at all. Please wear whatever you are most comfortable wearing."

The Grangers took their leave. Remus went to Tom to get the key for Hermione's room so they could move her trunk into it and she could transfer her things to her new one. Remus picked up her trunk from Harry's room and went with Hermione so he could unshrink her purchases for her. Harry went into his room to leave his day robe. They met back in the hall for the walk over to Potter Hall.

"So is this the secret place we're going tomorrow night?"

"Yes. Please keep the secret until tomorrow night?"

"Of course!"

Remus led the way with Snuffles beside him. Harry and Hermione followed. Although traffic was a bit congested, it was an easy walk for them. When they got to Dean Street, Remus explained, "You will have no problems seeing it but your parents will. There are muggle repelling charms and notice-me-not charms on it. That's why I told them it was similar to the Leaky Cauldron or Hogwarts so they wouldn't drive around and around looking for something they may not be able to see."

"I see. So is this house yours Professor Lupin?"

"In a sense. Please call me Remus when we're not at Hogwarts, Hermione."

"Oh, OK. I'll try."

Remus tapped the knocker with his wand and they entered. Very shortly they were almost bowled over by an overexcited house elf.

"Harry and Master Wolfie. You be back! Dobby be happy to see you!"

They all laughed and Harry introduced Hermione, "Dobby, this is Hermione Granger. She is one of my friends from Hogwarts. She's the one who figured out Slytherin's monster was a basilisk."

Dobby's eyes got even wider and he exclaimed, "Thank you Harry's Grangey! You helped get rid of the evil that be at Hogwarts!"

Hermione laughed then said, "I'm pleased to meet you too, Dobby. I heard so much about you last year."

"Harry be talking about poor Dobby?" He then threw himself around Harry's legs.

"It's OK Dobby. We're going to the library. Let us know when you have dinner ready. You don't need to be in any hurry."

With that, Dobby popped away. They went into the library and Hermione's eyes opened wide and her mouth even wider. "What is this place, Harry?"

"This is Potter Hall." He said with a sweep of his arms.

"This is yours?"

"Technically, yes, but Remus has use of it for as long as he wants it."

After thinking a minute she turned around on him and shouted, "Harry James Potter! What are you doing with a house elf?"

"Relax Hermione. Dobby is still a free elf in some ways. I am paying him and he gets days off. If he is sick in any way I'll make sure he is taken care of. He has unlimited access to food as well as the flat. However, I learned something about house elves. If they are not bound to another wizard then they can lose their magic and die by wasting away. I didn't know it but Dobby secretly bonded to me when I freed him from Malfoy. This bond is for his benefit as well. I will never do anything to hurt him. You can ask him yourself."

"It's still slavery!"

"They don't see it that way, Hermione," said Remus. "To them, serving a wizard is their sole reason for living. It is a symbiotic relationship for them both. I'll be happy to lend you a book about the history of house elves if you would like it."

Hermione still wasn't happy but was a bit reassured by that explanation, "Thank you. I think I would like to borrow it from you if you don't mind. I can give it back when we get to Hogwarts."

Remus walked over to the bookshelves and wrote his request in the index book. A book started blinking and he walked over to retrieve it for Hermione.

"What was that all about? How did the book start blinking?"

Remus patiently explained the indexing system for the library. She was in awe. "Why don't we have something like that at Hogwarts?"

"Can you imagine some first year going to it and asking for a book on potions? The next thing you know a tenth of the library books are blinking? They use the more common system that the muggles do and group them by subject so that you can find the area you are looking for easily. It also allows someone to put books they don't want to let into little hands out of reach as well as require authorization to remove."

"I guess that makes sense."

Harry interjected, "You had a bunch of questions earlier. I think I can answer some of them now although I'm sure I'll be answering them again tomorrow. Let's start with the glasses. I had an appointment yesterday with the oculist and got glasses that actually fit my eyes. I can't believe how bad my eyes were. They've already got unbreakable and impervious charms on them so no more having to repair them frequently and I can see fine on the pitch."

"If you could catch the snitch with bad eyesight imagine what will happen now! The other houses won't know what hit them."

"Well, remember most of the other seekers had perfect vision to begin with."

"How did you meet Snuffles?"

"He met me when I was leaving the Dursleys. He's a really intelligent dog. Plus, people keep a wide berth when he's around. He's a great protection dog."

"Have you had him checked for disease? Has he had a rabies shot?"

Harry decided to lie a little, "I've got an appointment on Tuesday for him to be checked out. There's a veterinary surgery a few blocks away. I wanted to make sure he was fine just before we go to Hogwarts."

"What are you going to do with him while you're there?"

"He'll stay with Hagrid while I'm in class."

"Well, that's a good solution. I suspect Fang will be happy to have another animal close in type to play with."

"I think so."

"So you did leave the Dursleys?"

"Yes, but the full explanation will have to wait until tomorrow." When Hermione looked about to jump in Harry continued, "I know you want to know everything and I want to tell you, but you'll really need to wait because it is a long story that I would like to tell only one time."

"OK, but you promise to answer all my questions tomorrow?"

"I won't say all of them, but the vast majority of them, yes."

At that moment Dobby popped in, "Dinner be ready Harry, Master Wolfie and Harry's Grangey."

"We'll be right there Dobby," said Harry.

They entered the dining room and had an enjoyable dinner. Hermione grilled Remus about what they would be learning in DADA this year. She quickly realized that Remus was a credible professor.

"Third years will be studying dark creatures for the most part. I'll be teaching you some practical skills to go along with it. I think you will be pleasantly pleased with this year's DADA class. Harry's told me about your previous two teachers and I promise you that I do not have Voldemort possessing my body nor have I taken credit for others' works."

"I know that, but what types of dark creatures? Will we be meeting them? Will there be vampires and werewolves visiting the class?"

"Slow down Hermione! If I told you all of my plans for the class then you wouldn't have anything to learn by the time we get to each specific one. You'll find the text I've chosen for your class covers everything quite thoroughly."

"Remus, why does Dobby call you Master Wolfie?" inquired Hermione.

"I've been working on becoming an animagus and my form is a wolf. I think Dobby can sense those things. I've only mastered a partial transformation. I am hoping to work with Professor McGonagall on it while I'm at Hogwarts," Remus replied, thinking quickly on his feet.

"Do you think she'd let us try?"

"No. It is NEWT level transfiguration and your core needs to mature a bit more before you attempt it and if I hear anything about you trying to do it unsupervised, Harry, we will be having a very direct conversation."

"I promise I won't!"

Once they completed dessert Remus suggested he take them back to the Leaky Cauldron thinking tomorrow would be a busy day with the Weasley family arriving. Harry knew what was really involved but wasn't going to tip that hand. Harry let Snuffles into his room so he could help Hermione with setting up her trunk. Once he showed her what she needed to do they settled on breakfast at half eight then he returned to his room. With the door closed and silencing charms in place Sirius transformed back to himself. Harry pulled the portrait of his parents out and enlarged it.

"Wow! She makes me tired just listening to all of her questions!" exclaimed Sirius.

"She can be a bit overwhelming at times, but her heart is in the right place."

"She does seem to be a good friend."

"I take it you approve of Hermione, Padfoot?" queried James.

"Yes Prongs, however she can ask you five questions before you've even processed the first one. You should see the stack of books she got at Flourish and Blotts today. She must be taking every elective Hogwarts offers. Now, show me your haul, pup."

"You aren't going to make me model everything are you?" Harry asked with a groan.

"No. I wouldn't do that to you."

Harry started pulling things out of the sacks and laying them on the bed for Sirius to see. When he had pulled out the last sock, he was exhausted.

Lily had wanted him to model everything but Harry just glared at her until he realized she was just joking with him.

"You did great! I think having the Grangers go with you was a stroke of brilliance from Remus. You may want to have Dobby launder everything and put your name on them before you go to Hogwarts," said Sirius.

"Right. The Dursleys always had me launder their new clothes before they wore them. Takes some of the stiffness out. Do you think he'd mind?"

"Harry, you could probably ask Dobby to jump off the Tower of London singing 'God Save the Queen' and he'd do it willingly."

"Wait. How do you know about the British National Anthem?"

"You really think wizards don't know about the queen? Remember our ancient houses descend from British royalty."

"Oh. Right."

"Well, why don't I summon Dobby and you can ask him if he has time for your laundry."

"Dobby."

"Master Doggie be calling Dobby?"

"Yes Dobby. I need you to do something. I need you to call me Snuffles when you're around anyone else but Harry and Remus. We can't let anyone else know about me being an animagus for a few more days at least. Can you do that Dobby?"

"Of course Master Snuffles."

"Thank you Dobby. I think Harry needs you to do something for him."

"What can Dobby do for his Harry?"

"Dobby, I got a bunch of new clothes today," Harry waved his arm over the pile of clothes, "Would you have time to launder them and mark them for me before I go back to Hogwarts? If you can just do a couple of them for me for the next couple of days that would be fine."

"Dobby have everything back for you in the morning when he brings your Master Snuffles back."

"You don't have to. I don't want you tiring yourself out."

"Dobby not be tired! Dobby is happy to do this for Harry."

"Thank you Dobby." After giving Harry a hug, Sirius went off with Dobby.

Harry spent a little more time talking with his parents. James had him do some more wand practice just to keep feeling the difference. After that, he bid them goodnight, changed and fell happily into bed.


	20. To Catch a Rat

**20\. To Catch a Rat**

Harry and Hermione left their rooms at the same time Friday morning. Harry took his potion before leaving his room to avoid more questions. He was wearing one of his day robes since they were planning to stay in the Alley until dinner. True to his word, Dobby had returned with all of Harry's new clothes freshly laundered and pressed with his name on each piece. Harry opened his trunk and Dobby quickly put his things away for him. Sirius had had a good evening with Remus talking about Harry and Hermione but he wasn't going to tell Harry that.

"What do you want to do this morning, Hermione?"

"Well, you said you had your homework done. Do you need me to check it over?"

"Remus did that already. He wouldn't let me do anything until I had done it to his satisfaction. You're welcome to look it over if you'd like, though." That last brightened Hermione's countenance.

Before they could go upstairs, Remus arrived to check on them. "I have some business at the Ministry this morning unless you need me for something, Harry."

"No. I think we're going to go over our homework for starters. Hopefully the Weasleys will be here by the time we're done."

"I should be back before then. Don't eat up Fortescue's profits."

Harry glared at Remus, then laughed. "Remember Hermione's parents are dentists. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Harry told Tom they would be in his room when the Weasleys arrived. Tom gave them a little wink which made both him and Hermione blush so he added the door would be open. They took Snuffles out for a quick walk before heading upstairs. Hermione went to her room to get her homework then returned to Harry's. True to his word he left the door open. Snuffles settled himself on the rug in front of the hearth and took a nap.

"You don't mind me looking at your homework, Harry?"

"Why should I? You've been doing it for two years. Just wouldn't be normal otherwise."

They settled at the table in the room and exchanged parchments. Harry unrolled the first one of Hermione's and started to read, but before he made it to the first sentence Hermione exclaimed, "Who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?"

"I AM Harry Potter, Hermione."

"But this isn't your normal chicken scratch writing. What happened?"

"Well, for one thing, the new glasses help me see what I'm writing better and also Remus gave me a tutorial in how to properly hold a quill. I was doing it all wrong apparently. It is so much easier on my hand too!"

"Apparently Remus has been a good person to come into your life."

"He has. I wish I'd known him sooner," Harry said wistfully.

"Yeah, why now? Oh wait, I'll learn it all tonight."

"Right."

They went back to their parchments, occasionally asking each other questions about points made in the other's essay. Hermione finished first with Harry's History of Magic assignment, "Where did you get this information about the goblin wars of 1285?"

"Florean Fortescue is an expert on goblin wars. I was sitting outside his shop working on my homework and he came over and helped me." He left out about the free sundaes.

"Maybe I should add it to mine."

"Don't. If you do, even though Binns probably doesn't even read them, it will make it look like we copied off of each other. This will be something we will need to be especially careful about in DADA. Remus has already read these for me so he knows my style. He's made it clear what his expectations are for me in all of my classes. He's going to be monitoring my grades as well."

"You really do have someone looking after you finally, don't you?"

"Yeah. It's different, that's for sure. Now how do we explain all of this to Ron? Oh, I also changed my electives. I'm now taking Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. I thought Remus was going to blow a gasket when he found out I was taking Divination. He told me that there have only been two or three real seers in the past hundred years and Professor Trelawney isn't one of them. He gave me the option of Runes or Arithmancy and I chose Runes. Oh, he also said I could test out of the Muggle Studies OWL without taking the class. There's nothing in the rules about taking the formal class at Hogwarts to take an OWL. I could be home schooled in something and still take the exam. I haven't told Ron all of this yet because I know he's going to get his feelings hurt. If he still wants to take Divination I'm going to offer him my book since I'd already bought it before all of this happened."

"That's true about Ron. I think we need to explain it that you've now got someone to look after you after all of those years with the Dursleys. He's always had a family to take care of him and now you have someone that's interested in your life and what you make of it."

"I'm also going to have to figure out how to make him understand the money thing too. He's definitely not going to take that well either."

"You've never been one to flaunt your money like Malfoy does. I know it makes Ron uncomfortable to always be at the end of the line for everything in his family. We just need to make him see that you haven't changed from the person you were. It's not going to be easy."

They went back to reading each other's homework, occasionally stopping to ask questions about sources and ideas. The housekeeper came by and did a quick cleanup of his room. Hermione finished sooner, naturally.

"Harry, I have to admit, these are very good. Are you sure you won't have to convince the teachers that you wrote them? It's very different from your previous work."

"I hope not. I can see Snape giving me a T just because he thinks I copied someone else's work. I've still got the last of your Transfiguration homework and your Potions homework to read. Do you want to take a look at the extra books I have in my trunk?"

"Do you mind?"

"Of course not!" Harry walked over to his trunk and released the security wards on it. He opened up the second compartment so that it would display all of the books rather than just asking for a specific title and left Hermione to pick through it.

Harry finished the last of her essays and looked over at her. "What did you find so interesting?"

"What is Occlumency? I've never heard of it before."

"From what Remus told me it's the ability to organize your mind so that if someone tries to read it, all they will see is what you want them to see. I've got a lot to learn about it which is why I bought that book yesterday. I think the ones I got from the Potter library are a bit more advanced than I am right now. I haven't really spent any time with it yet."

"But you'll let me read it when you're done with it, right?"

"Of course!"

About that time they heard a low thunder coming from the hall. "I think the Weasleys are here," grinned Harry. A red head came into view, "Harry! Hermione!" yelled Ron.

Harry and Hermione went to the door and Snuffles sidled over to check out the group that had just invaded.

Ron entered the room and greeted his friends.

"That trip to Egypt must have been good for you. You look good with a tan, Ronald," said Hermione.

"Yeah, it was good for me, but Scabbers took it hard."

"So you said," added Harry, "we'll get him checked out soon."

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley came in and wrapped him in a hug then did the same for Hermione.

"You both look well. You've got more color in you than you did the last time I saw you, Harry."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley. I've had a good few weeks."

"Arthur told us about meeting you and Remus at the Ministry last week."

"Yes. Remus is actually there now. He should be back any time now."

"Hi Harry," said Ginny.

"Hi Ginny. Good holiday?"

"Yes. Yours?"

"Very good."

Hermione broke in, "How about I show you to our room, Ginny?"

The two girls headed out down the hall.

"Harry," Percy held out his hand to shake Harry's.

"Hi Percy. Congratulations on making Head Boy. Do you know who made Head Girl?"

"Yes. Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw," he answered with a blush. Everyone knew Percy had a thing for Penelope, especially after she'd been petrified the previous school year.

"Hello Harry …"

"… Smashing good to see you old chap …"

"… Doing well?" The twins grabbed each of his hands and proceeded to shake his arms off.

"Gred, Forge, good to see you too." Harry laughed.

"Let me get these boys settled and we'll meet you shortly."

"Sure Mrs. Weasley."

Ron dropped his trunk in the room with Percy and came right back.

"So what are you doing at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"The short story is I blew up Aunt Marge and ran away. The long story you'll find out tonight after dinner."

"Wow. Are you serious?"

Snuffles barked at that comment. Harry laughed. "Yes."

"Oi! Where'd you get the dog?"

"He sort of found me. As I was leaving the Dursleys he attached himself to me."

"What's his name?"

"Snuffles. He makes this sound between a snort and a bit of a wuffle so I call him Snuffles. I gave him a couple of other choices but this is the one he liked. He's a really smart dog."

Hearing his name, Snuffles came over and sniffed Ron. He caught the scent of Scabbers and started growling.

"Easy boy. It's just Scabbers. He won't hurt you." Snuffles still bared his teeth and growled again.

"Keep that brute away from Scabbers! He's been through enough already." Ron moved Scabbers away.

"Snuffles! Down!" Snuffles immediately sat down but wasn't happy about it.

Mrs. Weasley came out of her room, "Alright children. Let's all go downstairs. We're eating lunch here today."

Everybody trooped downstairs. Tom directed them to a private room. As they were seating themselves Mr. Weasley and Remus joined them.

Arthur asked for their attention, "Let me introduce you to Remus Lupin. He is now the Steward for the Potter family. He will also be your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this term."

"As we are not at Hogwarts yet and school is not in session, please call me Remus. I am here as the Potter Steward and not as a professor. My concern until September first is solely Harry's welfare. I would like to thank you for taking Harry into your family. Now, that's the only speech you will hear from me until September second for those lucky enough to have me on your first day of classes." The whole group laughed. Tom brought lunch in and everyone started to eat. Conversation flowed throughout the room. The twins were thinking about new pranks to pull, Ginny and Hermione were talking about girl things, the elder Weasleys were talking with Remus and Percy was floundering between them all. After lunch, everyone scattered to their different pursuits. Harry had Ron and Hermione join him upstairs and Remus followed, knowing this was about the trunk. The adult Weasleys also followed.

"Ron, I found something in the Alley while I was getting my things for school that I liked and thought you might as well. I got one for Hermione too." Remus handed the trunk to Harry then tapped his wand on it to enlarge it.

"Let me show you what it can do." He then showed his best mate how to open it, close it, secure it and shrink it.

"Wow. It's got the Weasley crest on it and everything."

"Yeah. I've got Hermione keyed into mine and I'll key you in as well. It's up to you whether or not you want to key us into yours."

"Sure. I don't have anything to hide from you. I bet you love the book compartment, Hermione."

"It's going to make everything a whole lot easier. I had to leave some books at home because I didn't have enough room. My parents are going to bring them to me tonight."

Mrs. Weasley asked, "So your parents are joining us for dinner tonight?"

"Yes Mrs. Weasley. They'll join us after they've closed up the surgery for the day."

"Hey Ron. Do you want to go on and take Scabbers to the Magical Menagerie? Hermione wants to get a pet too. She's not sure if she wants an owl or something else."

"Yeah. Is it OK if we go there Mum?"

"Of course dear. I think we'll take a walk with you."

"You don't need to, Mum."

"Oh, I know but it will do us all good. We need to visit Gringotts before we can get your school supplies."

"Oh. Right."

The group, including Snuffles, walked out into the Alley at a leisurely pace. Harry didn't know whether or not Remus had filled in Mr. Weasley about what was going to happen.

"Mum, can we stop at Fortescue's later?" asked Ron.

"We'll see. You don't need to be spoiling your appetite for dinner."

Harry and Hermione just laughed at that. About the only thing that could spoil Ron's appetite was a spider, especially large, hairy spiders.

They quickly found themselves at the Magical Menagerie. There was a wizard at the counter being waited on by a pink-haired witch. He was getting advice on the care of double-ended newts. They looked around at the different animals to help Hermione. There were cats of every color, snails leaving slimy trails up and down the sides of the tank they were in. On the counter in a cage were a group of rats playing some sort of skipping game. The man moved away to another part of the store and Ron made his way to the counter.

"What can I help you with?"

"It's my rat. He's looking a bit peaky."

"How old is he?"

"I don't know exactly. He was my brother's before he became mine but he's been in the family for about ten years or so."

"Does he have any special talents?"

"Talents?"

"Yeah. Is he like these rats who entertain? Does he do tricks?"

"No. He's just a rat."

"Well, bang him up on the counter and let me take a look at him."

Ron pulled Scabbers out of his jacket and laid him up on the counter. They were so focused on what was happening that Harry didn't notice Remus giving the witch a nod of his head. Just as she was about to pick the rat up, a large ball of orange fur sailed down, aiming for the rat.

"Bad Crookshanks! Get back up there you mangy cat!" said the witch.

Crookshanks moved away from the counter but kept his eyes on the rat. Snuffles also had his eyes on the rat as well. There was no way the rat was going to get away this time.

"You say it's over ten years old" That's very old for a common rat. How did he lose that toe?"

"Don't know. He's been like that for as long as I can remember."

"Well, give me a minute here. I think I've got something under the counter just for him." She reached under the counter and pulled out a cage. The next thing anyone knew, the rat was securely in the cage and trying to get out for all he was worth.

"Hey! What are you doing with my rat?" yelled Ron.

The wizard with the double-ended newts had come up behind him.

" I am Auror Dawlish and this is Auror Trainee Tonks. We are confiscating your rat by order of the Director of Magical Law Enforcement."

"But he's just a rat. What does the DMLE want with a plain old rat?"

"That is a question we are going to be asking once we take him back to the Ministry."

"But look at him! He's terrified! He's too old for something like this. You'll kill him."

Little did he know that's exactly what they wanted to do to the rat.

"Now, we have a portkey back to the ministry. I was told to bring Mr. Weasley and Mr. Lupin with us. Mr. Potter and the young Mr. Weasley may come if you agree."

"What about me?" Mrs. Weasley said in a huff.

"Molly, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the other children. I'll explain it to you when I get back. Snuffles will stay with you for extra protection." Mr. Weasley replied.

"You'd better have a good reason for this Arthur Weasley."

"I assure you that I do."

The senior Auror pulled out a length of rope and asked everyone to hold on to it. He confirmed that Auror Tonks had the rat well secured then tapped the rope with his wand and stated "Activate."

Harry had never traveled by portkey before. He suddenly felt like someone had taken a hook behind his navel and yanked him. The next thing he knew he was sitting on the floor in a room he'd never seen before.


	21. Meet the Press

**21\. Meet the Press**

"This is the entrance to the holding cells at the Ministry. Jailer Bailey, please notify Director Bones that we've returned. She wanted to be here when we do this. Now, if you four will follow us, we'll just head down the hall to a cell we've already prepared."

Ron was starting to get very frightened. Evidently he thought he'd done something wrong and they were going to put him and Harry in jail.

"I'm sorry Dad. Whatever it is you think I did, I don't deserve to go to prison."

"Relax son. You've done nothing wrong. We are just trying to confirm the identity of the rat."

With those words, the teen visibly relaxed. They were standing outside a cell waiting for the Director to arrive. She was there very quickly and introduced herself to Ron. He was extremely polite to her, still not sure if he wasn't in trouble.

"Dawlish, have you confirmed this cell has the proper wards on it?"

"Yes Director. I also have a pair of magic suppressing manacles to attach for additional security."

"Well, let's get on with it." They all trooped inside and the door was secured. She took a deep breath, "Is everybody ready?" After nods all around, "Very well, Tonks, release the rat."

Tonks opened the cage and the rat scurried out trying to find a hole to crawl through. They had ensured the cell was absolutely escape proof. The Director then asked Auror Dawlish to perform the revealing charm. He pointed his wand at the rat and uttered " _Animagus Reveleo._ "

Where there was once a rat, a little mouse of a man laid.

"What happened to my rat? Who's this man?"

Remus answered, "This is Peter Pettigrew."

"Dawlish, put the manacles on the prisoner." They watched the Auror do as directed.

"But he's dead! Sirius Black killed him!" yelled Ron.

"No, we just thought he did, but I think we'll leave it for the rat to explain," said Remus.

Peter tried to come over to Remus, "Remus, my dear dear friend. It's so good to see you again."

Remus tried to kick the rat-man away, "You're no friend of mine. You killed two of my best friends and then set up the other one to suffer for your crime."

He then turned to Harry, "Harry! You look so much like James, but you've got your mother's eyes. Surely you believe me."

"You killed my parents. I want nothing to do with you."

"Ron. I've been your faithful companion for years. Don't you believe me?"

"You've been living in my house! In my dorm even!" Ron moved back in horror.

The Director moved over to the door, "Jailer Bailey, please notify the Minister that we require his presence immediately."

"Of course Director."

Peter had continued his begging until Dawlish put a silencing spell on him. "It is in your best interest to not say anything more."

After a few minutes wait, the guy with the green bowler hat that Harry and Ron had seen in Hagrid's hut a few months ago walked in.

"What's all of this nonsense about a high risk prisoner being caught, Amelia? Have you finally caught Sirius Black?"

"No, Minister. We have caught Peter Pettigrew," said Director Bones.

"But that's impossible! Peter Pettigrew is dead."

"Dawlish, please remove your silencing spell."

Once that was done, Amelia asked, "Please state your name."

"SSSScabbers."

"Your HUMAN name."

"PPPPeter PPPettigrew.

"Did you betray James and Lily Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Yyyesss. But you have to understand, he made me!"

"How did this happen?" asked the Minister.

Remus answered this question, "Peter is an unregistered animagus. His form is a rat. He has spent the time since his supposed death posing as a pet to the Weasley family."

"How did you discover this?"

"When the Weasleys had their picture on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ a few weeks ago the rat was perched on young Ron's shoulder. I would know that rat anywhere."

"Then Sirius Black is innocent?" the Minister paled.

"Yes, Minister, it appears so," replied Director Bones.

"Summon the Dementors and have them take this man to Azkaban!" stated Fudge.

"No. Not this time. This man will not leave Ministry custody until he has had a fair trial with the use of Veritaserum," stated Director Bones emphatically.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you are right. What should we do now? Sirius Black is missing."

"First, Minister, I suggest you remove the 'Kiss on Sight' order. Then I suggest you go to the news people and let them know that we have captured Peter Pettigrew and that Sirius Black is given immunity from capture if he willingly turns himself in. Finally, I recommend you convene the Wizengamot as soon as possible to provide Mr. Pettigrew a fair trial before we give him to the Dementors to Kiss," said Director Bones. With that last pronouncement, Pettigrew fainted.

Remus asked one more thing, "Before we go further, I would like for you to check his left forearm for a Death Eater mark."

Dawlish yanked up the offending sleeve and there, for everyone to see, was the mark of Voldemort. At this, Minister Fudge wanted to faint.

"Yes, Amelia. I will notify Azkaban immediately to remove the order and I will tell them they are no longer needed to guard Hogwarts this year."

Remus interrupted, "You were going to have Dementors guarding Hogwarts? Are you insane Minister?"

"No need to get nasty, now, is there?" Fudge said. Remus just gaped at him.

"I will have my assistant summon the news members for an announcement at four. I would ask all of you to be present since you had a hand in his capture. I do not want Pettigrew paraded before the crowd. We can't risk him getting loose again. Have the jail photographer provide a copy of his photograph for distribution."

"Of course, Minister. We have placed manacles on him which prevent him from transforming into his rat form and this cell is warded as well. We will be putting manacles on his legs for additional insurance," said Director Bones.

With that, the group left the cell. Director Bones gave specific orders to the jail staff concerning Pettigrew's treatment. No one other than the Director and Auror Dawlish were allowed to move the prisoner. Auror Trainee Tonks was allowed access in the company of either the Director or Dawlish. Once the jail photographer had his picture, a copy was to be made available to the Minister's office immediately. While Director Bones was talking, Tonks sidled up to Harry, "Wotcher, Harry! I hear I might be getting a little brother. Do you know anything about that?"

Harry smiled, "I heard I might be getting a big sister. We're still working things out. I haven't had a chance to get with your parents since the reading of the will."

"Hope to see you soon then."

The group headed up to the Minister's office. Arthur wanted to bring his whole family to the announcement so he floo'd back to the Leaky Cauldron to gather them and Hermione up. Tea was brought up for them all while they waited for the press conference to begin. Ron was still baffled with everything that had happened.

"Harry, did you know about this?"

"I knew they suspected him but there was no way to tell until we had him captured."

"Why didn't you tell me? I slept with that, that killer last night!?"

"We didn't want to tip the rat off that we suspected anything. It was brilliant when you said you needed to take him to the Magical Menagerie."

Remus walked over, "How are you two doing?"

"I'm glad this worked out like we hoped, but Ron's a bit put out we didn't let him in on the plan."

Remus sat down in front of Ron, "Don't blame Harry for this. We needed to keep as few people involved as possible. If there had been any hint that we had a plan to capture him, he could have gotten away. Did you see how that cat came after him? I think he knew there was something off about the rat. If you need to blame someone for keeping secrets, blame me."

"No, I guess it's OK. I was just surprised. What happens now? Will I have to go to court or something?"

"I don't know. It may be that your father's testimony about how the rat came to join your family will be all that's needed. Rest assured you have absolutely no blame in this. If I hadn't seen that picture of your family in Egypt, he would probably still be free."

Arthur, Molly and the rest of the Weasleys along with Hermione entered at that point and the volume in the room rose exponentially.

Arthur spoke up, "Kids! Keep it down! You are in the Minister for Magic's office!"

With that admonishment the volume dropped to a dull roar. The Minister came out of his office then and approached Arthur, "And who do we have here?"

"This is my son Percy. He is in his last year at Hogwarts and is the Head Boy." Percy shook the Minister's hand proudly.

"These two are the twins, Fred and George. They are in their fifth year." The twins puffed up their chests in a good imitation of Percy,

"So happy to meet you Minister," said Fred (or was it George?).

"Good day Minister," chimed in George (or was it Fred?).

"Yes, Yes."

"My son Ronald whom you met downstairs. He is in his third year along with Harry Potter."

Ron was still a bit shaky but took the Minister's proffered hand.

"This is Ronald and Harry's friend, Hermione Granger."

"Miss Granger." She took the Minister's hand.

"My youngest child, Ginevra."

She also took the Minister's hand.

"I'm not sure if you remember my wife, Molly."

"Of course! So good to see you again, Molly."

"You too Minister."

"Well, shall we all go up to the Atrium? Arthur, if you and Remus would stand on either side of me with your family off to the left behind you. Harry, if you'd stand with us too. I'll also have Amelia with us."

Harry's eyes narrowed and hands clenched into fists. He knew the Minister was using his fame as a bonus chip for the papers to make the Minister look better.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Remus whispered.

"I'm being used for a publicity stunt again."

"It won't be long and it's worth it to get Sirius cleared. Just remind yourself of that."

"Minister, I would also like for Ronald to stand with us as it was his rat," said Remus.

"Oh yes. Certainly!"

Harry felt a bit better at that. Ron deserved to get a little recognition for this.

The group trooped to the lifts and set off for the atrium. They had hastily set up a platform for the Minister and his entourage. A crowd had gathered hoping to be in on whatever big announcement the Minister had (in reality, it was a crowd of Ministry employees hastily gathered to provide a ready-made audience). There were several people in the front row that appeared to be members of the press. The Minister cast a _Sonorus_ charm and began speaking:

 _Thank you! Thank you! I have a brief announcement to make, but first let me introduce you to the people standing with me. On my right are Harry Potter and Remus Lupin, a professor at Hogwarts. On my left are Arthur Weasley from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office and his son Ronald, and Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. Behind Arthur are members of his family. Earlier today, a combined effort of these people resulted in the capture and imprisonment of Peter Pettigrew._

There were shouts all through the Atrium of "But he's dead!", "How can this be?" "Did someone resurrect him?"

 _Quiet please. All will be explained to you shortly. Remus recognized the traitor Peter Pettigrew in a photograph of the Weasley family in the Daily Prophet several weeks ago. He then came to Director Bones with his suspicions. Remus was a friend of Pettigrew as well as Sirius Black and James Potter. He was aware that Mr. Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus whose form is a rat. Realizing that Pettigrew was still alive, he and Mr. Potter came to Director Bones with his discovery. Due to the fact the Weasleys were out of the country at the time, the Director was unable to make an immediate arrest. This morning, with the assistance of Arthur, his son Ronald, Harry and Remus, the DMLE was able to capture the rat, er man, and bring it to the Ministry where the animagus revealing charm was cast, forcing Pettigrew to resume his human form. After verifying his name, the DMLE verified that Pettigrew was marked with the Dark Mark._

Gasps were heard throughout the audience.

 _I am requesting the Wizengamot to convene on Sunday in order to try Peter Pettigrew for the murder of James and Lily Potter by revealing their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the murder of thirteen muggles in his attempt to avoid prosecution. In addition, the charge of being an unregistered animagus will be added. I have rescinded the Kiss on Sight order for Sirius Black and ask that he turn himself in so that we may give him a proper trial. We are granting him immunity from capture if he does so. It remains to be determined his guilt or innocence in this matter. Now, I'll entertain any questions you may have._

"Why weren't we told of this activity beforehand?" asked one person.

"What's going to happened to Sirius Black when he's cleared?" asked another.

"How long was Pettigrew with the Weasleys?" still another.

"One at a time please. Miss Skeeter, please ask your question.

A witch with blond hair, glasses lined with precious stones and a green robe responded, "How long was Pettigrew with the Weasleys?"

"Arthur?"

"I believe he joined us about twelve years ago. My son Percy found him and realized he was more than just your ordinary garden rat. We've kept him ever since. When my son Ronald started Hogwarts two years ago, Percy passed the rat to him to keep as a pet."

The minister pointed to a man with blond hair and yellow robes, "Mr. Lovegood?"

"Yes, thank you. Mr. Potter, how do you feel having slept with the betrayer of your parents for the last two years?"

"Creepy." The audience chuckled at that.

"Mr. Wilding,"

"Why did the wards at Hogwarts allow an animagus to live in the castle?"

"I believe we are going to have to ask Albus Dumbledore that question but I understand that at least one professor, Minerva McGonagall, is an animagus and uses this as a teaching example for her classes."

"Minister, you mentioned that you wanted to bring in Sirius Black in order to give him a proper trial. Did he not have one when he was sent to Azkaban," asked Rita Skeeter.

"Ah, Amelia?"

"No he did not. I researched his case after Mr. Lupin brought his information to me and discovered there was no record of a trial."

"Who signed the order to send Mr. Black to Azkaban?" asked Mr. Wilding.

"According to the records, the order was signed by Bartemius Crouch, Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge."

Again, a loud murmur cascaded across the audience. Another witch raised her hand.

"Madam Abbott?"

"Minister, how will the Ministry compensate Sirius Black for his time in Azkaban?"

"That will be for the Wizengamot to determine."

Rita asked, "Will you all be available for interviews after this?"

"Not at this time. We will see if the group wants to answer further questions after we have this all sorted out."

"Now, are there any more questions?" Nobody raised a hand, "Very well. Thank you for coming."

Everyone started rushing back to their offices in the Ministry or back to their offices at their news outlets. The Weasleys, Harry, Remus and Hermione moved off the platform and to a corner. Director Bones walked over to them, "Thank you all for your help. Remus, Arthur, we'll need you to be available to testify to what happened. I don't think we'll need any of your children to testify, but please feel free to bring them to the trial since Pettigrew has been living with them. It should be a relatively short trial once we give him the Veritaserum. I don't think I need to ask you what sentence you would like handed down."

"No," said Remus and Harry together.

"Again, thank you for your help. I will be in contact if anything else comes up. You are all at the Leaky Cauldron now, correct?"

There was a nod of assent by everyone present. The group lined up at one of the floos and traveled back to the Leaky Cauldron.


	22. Tales and Confessions

**A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I'm just playing with them for now.**

 **22\. Tales and Confessions**

Remus herded the group back into the private parlor they had been in earlier, then asked Tom for tea for them all. While waiting for Tom, Harry went upstairs to get Snuffles. Once they all had tea, Remus closed the door and put up silencing and privacy wards.

"Well, I'm glad that is over. First, let me apologize to all of you for blindsiding you on this, especially you, Ron. We felt the fewer people who knew, the better chances we had for capturing the rat. Since he can understand human speech even in his animagus form, we couldn't risk having anyone talking about what we were doing. There is no way we could have found out the truth without all of you" said Remus.

"I'm just glad it is over with," said Ron.

"I believe we all are," agreed Remus.

"Does anyone have any other questions that I can try to answer now?"

Again the murmurs started up, then Hermione asked, "Do you know where Sirius Black is then?"

"I'm afraid not, Hermione. I hope when the papers come out tomorrow he'll discover the truth and turn himself in. It should already be all over the Wizarding Wireless by now. I suggest you all go to your rooms and take a break. Harry will be leading you to the location for dinner tonight. It is in muggle London so please dress accordingly. It's a short walk from here so no need to worry about the floo or a port key. If you could be down here by half six we'd appreciate it. I'll be waiting at the location for the Grangers. I believe many of your other questions that you have had will be answered tonight."

They all scattered to their rooms. Remus, Arthur and Molly stayed behind.

"I can't thank you enough for your help today. I do apologize for the subterfuge."

"Very understandable, Remus. Now, I must ask, was this the whole reason for getting us down here?" said Arthur

"Not entirely. Since I leave for Hogwarts tomorrow, I wanted to make sure there was a trusted adult keeping an eye on Harry. He has been through a tremendous amount in just these past two weeks."

"When isn't that boy going through some trial or tribulation?" asked Molly.

"Exactly."

"Remus, please tell me that you and Harry aren't paying for this. We would be happy to help Harry out regardless of the reason," said Arthur.

"We are not. There is a benefactor who is sponsoring your stay. I am not at liberty to divulge their identity at this time. I hate to keep saying that all will be revealed in time, but again, this is one of those things you need to be patient with."

Molly replied, "We already consider Harry one of our own and Hermione has become a big sister for Ginny. Ginny went through so much last year. We will always be indebted to Harry for saving her last year."

Remus looked startled at that revelation and turned to Arthur, "Do you consider Harry's actions a life debt?"

Arthur caught on to where this discussion was leading, "Oh! I see. I think it is better to state that whatever we can do for Harry, and we are able to do, we will be more than happy to. I don't think either of them want to be saddled with the consequences of a life debt."

Remus breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you. I agree with you. As you are aware, Harry has had few adults in his life that he feels he can trust. He hasn't said it in those specific words but he considers you the family he's never had. I can't thank you enough for what you have done for him."

"He's such a nice boy. I don't think those muggles treat him very well," said Molly.

"He told me about how your sons rescued him from the Dursleys last year. You don't know how thankful that I am you did so."

Arthur asked, "It was really that bad?"

"You have no idea. Well, let me go see how things are going for dinner tonight. Until then." Remus bowed and took his leave.

Up in Harry's room, Ron and Hermione were also discussing the day's events. "That was really a clever plan you devised," said Hermione.

"Yeah, mate! I would have never have guessed I had a murderer living with me. I agree, that gives me the creeps."

"I think I'm still shivering about it. Can you imagine having that thing in the dorm with us again this year?" asked Harry

"No! Good riddance. I don't think I'll want another pet for a long time," agreed Ron

"Oh, Hermione, we forgot all about getting you a pet in all the confusion!" said Harry.

"No, I took care of that right after you left. I think he chose me, actually," answered Hermione.

"So what did you get? An owl?" asked Ron.

"No. Well, let me just go to my room and get him," Hermione then left to go get her new pet.

Ron said, "As long as it's not that crazy cat that tried to attack me, we're good."

Harry replied, "I wouldn't be surprised knowing Hermione. I wonder if Snuffles likes cats."

On cue, Hermione walked back in with an orange ball of fur, "This is Crookshanks. He's actually a half kneazle. I think he suspected Scabbers wasn't exactly what he seemed to be and that's why he tried to attack Scabbers." Crookshanks rubbed his cheek up against Hermione in reply.

Ron asked, "Has anyone checked him for being an animagus?"

All three of them shuddered at that thought. Hermione said, "Maybe we can ask Remus to check him." The cat turned his nose up at Hermione as if he were insulted.

"Well, guys. I need to take a shower before we head out, so if you'll excuse me. I'll meet you downstairs at half six." With that, the trio dispersed.

Once the door was closed, Sirius transformed back to his human form. Harry also pulled out the portrait of his parents.

Sirius asked, "I take it you had an exciting afternoon at the Ministry."

"Exciting doesn't even touch it. You should have seen Fudge's face when Madam Bones told him Pettigrew was alive. He turned almost as green as his bowler hat! He revisited that color several times along with turning white as a ghost a few times, especially when someone asked him about repaying you for wrongly putting you in prison," snickered Harry.

"Fudge deserves whatever he gets. Did Dumbledore's name come up?"

"Twice. Once about why there aren't wards at Hogwarts preventing animagi and again when asked who was responsible for sending you to Azkaban without a trial. It was priceless!"

"I wish I had a pensieve to see your memories of the afternoon!"

"What's a pensieve?"

"It's something that allows you to view memories. For example, if we wanted to view your memory of today, you'd bring that memory up to the forefront, place your wand against your temple and draw it out, then place it in the pensieve. We could both enter it and watch it just like it was a show on the telly."

"What do you know about a telly?"

"Lily, remember," pointing towards the portrait.

"Yes dear, I made them all learn some things about the muggle world. I took them to the cinema several times. When is the trial?" asked Lily.

"Sunday. I'll be there along with the Weasleys and Hermione. Right now, they think only Remus and Mr. Weasley will have to testify."

James added, "Put some Veritaserum on the rat's tongue and he'll sing like a canary."

"He's already tuned up. He could barely stutter out his name. Fudge almost passed out when they pulled up his left sleeve and it had the Dark Mark on it. I really thought he might have to go change his pants!" That drew a laugh from everyone in the room.

"Well, you three chat while I go clean up. You'll get to meet everyone shortly." Harry reached into his trunk for some clean clothes and headed into the bathroom.

"He's looking better Padfoot," said James.

"I think he's getting better. Having Moony around is making a big difference. He has never had an adult in his life he felt he could trust. I plan to make sure that never happens again. Hey, Prongs. I wonder how Dumbledore is doing about now. I bet he's fit to be tied!"

At Hogwarts, a certain Headmaster was, in fact, fit to be tied. How had they found Peter? How was Peter even alive? And what about Sirius? The last thing he needed was to have him reappear and be a factor in the boy's life. He had to go back to the Dursleys. Harry couldn't become independent of him. He needed Harry to be dependent on him for his plans to remain on track. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in Minerva."

"Albus."

"Lemon Drop?" offering his ever present dish of the same, "How may I help you this evening?"

"What do you mean Sirius Black never received a trial? He was summarily thrown into Azkaban without so much as questioning under Veritaserum!"

"He confessed. When he was brought in, he kept saying 'I killed them' over and over. Those were difficult times, Minerva. You remember how it was then."

"I remember a man who respected the truth above all else, Albus. I plan to attend the trial of Pettigrew Sunday."

Albus sighed. There was no way to get out of this mess, "If you feel you must, Minerva, then by all means please do."

"What will happen to Sirius when he is found?"

"We will give him a trial under Veritaserum. If it is proven he had no part in the killing of those muggles then I suppose he will be freed. I'm sure he will require time in St. Mungo's to recover from the effects of the Dementors."

"And Harry?"

"I see no need for Harry's circumstances to change."

"You don't mean you are still going to send him back to those despicable muggles when he will have a guardian, especially one his parents wanted him to have," she glared at Albus.

"The blood wards will keep him safer there."

"Hmph! We'll see. Good evening, Albus."

Minerva left the Headmaster's office even more angry than when she entered. Well, Harry would not be going back to those muggles if she had anything to do with it!

Harry was waiting for the others down in the hallway leading to the stairs to the rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already there.

"Want to bet on who the last person down will be?" Harry smiled.

"I think we all know that. If Ron isn't the last one down I'll also be surprised. I wonder some days how he ever makes it to class on time," said Arthur.

"Pulling the covers off of him and beating him with his pillow helps." The elder Weasleys laughed.

Percy was the next person down. He looked a bit uncomfortable in muggle clothes. Well, Percy looked uncomfortable period. The girls followed shortly behind, then the twins. True to the prediction, Ron was the last one down.

"OK, everyone. Snuffles and I will take the lead. Hermione, if you and Ginny would bring up the rear since you also know where we're going. Be careful of the crosswalks. Muggle drivers aren't known to watch where they're going." Ron looked at her with the question all over his face of "how do you know where we're going?" Arthur dropped back to walk with the girls just to ensure there was an adult with a wand back there as well.

The group moved down the street in a little pack. Everyone but Harry and Hermione were looking around at the tall buildings and the fast cars that did want to run them down if they hesitated in the crosswalks. They made good time to the flat. Apparently the Grangers arrived about the same time. Remus was coming out to meet them when the rest of the group showed up. Remus hurried them inside to avoid any unwanted attention.

Once they got in and closed the door, Remus turned and said, "Welcome to Potter Hall."

Everyone except Harry and Hermione was whispering 'Potter Hall' with a questioning look.

"Please join us in the sitting room for refreshments before dinner. Dobby."

With that, the little elf popped in with a tray of lemonade for everyone.

"Harry! And Harry's Grangey!"

"Hi Dobby. Let me introduce you to our guests. These are Hermione's parents, Ian and Michelle Granger. This is Arthur Weasley and his wife Molly, Percy, the twins Fred and George, my best mate Ron and their sister Ginny."

"Dobby is pleased to see so many of Harry's friends. Dobby has dinner ready soon." With that, the little elf popped back out.

The Grangers stared at the place where Dobby had been. Michelle spoke, "What was that?"

"That, Mom, is a house elf. The help out wizard families. Dobby is a bit different from most house elves."

Ron asked, "You said his name was Dobby? Isn't that the house elf …"

"Who stopped us from getting through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾. The one who charmed the bludger to chase me around the quidditch pitch. That's the one," answered Harry.

"And he's now your elf?"

"Yes. It's all part of the long story. Would you all like a quick tour? And no, Hermione, you can't stop at the library." Everyone laughed at that last comment.

By the time they got back downstairs, dinner was served. It was a comfortable atmosphere although Molly kept trying to serve everyone. She finally relaxed after Arthur reminded her for the fourth time that she was a guest. When everyone was finished, Remus stood up, "Shall we adjourn to the sitting room. Dobby will bring dessert and drinks in there."

When everyone was comfortably settled, Harry stood up in front of the fireplace. "I know everyone has been wondering about all of the mysteries of the past couple of weeks. It's been a complicated time and so much has changed for me, all for the better. There are a couple of people missing from this group that I'd like to introduce you to." He pulled out his parents' portrait and resized it. Remus placed it on the mantle so that everyone could see them and they could see everyone else. "May I introduce my parents, James and Lily Potter."

There were gasps all through the group. "If you would introduce yourselves, I'd appreciate it. They've already heard me talk about you and I know they've been waiting to meet you."

They went around the room. James and Arthur had vague memories of each other from the Ministry. The Grangers were once again surprised at what magic could do. Lily spent a few minutes talking to them about being a muggleborn in the world of magic. When introductions were completed, Harry began his story.

He told of Aunt Marge's visit and her beast of a dog Ripper. When he told them about what she had said about his parents nobody was surprised at the burst of accidental magic that blew her up like a balloon. He gave the story of meeting Snuffles then how he helped him hail the Knight Bus.

The twins said together, "Wicked! I've always wanted to ride the Knight Bus!"

"No you don't! Especially if you've just eaten. It will make you want to toss your cookies. I hope I never have to ride on that thing again!"

After his arrival at the Leaky Cauldron, he told of meeting the Minister and that the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad had taken care of Marge. The twins smirked, "I hope they just stuck a pin in her." That earned a glare from Molly. After getting a room at the Leaky Cauldron he went to Gringotts in the morning. From there the story of meeting Griphook and learning about having more than one vault as well as finding out about his parents' will.

Telling the part about the reading of the will was probably the toughest thing he had to tell. Explaining that Dumbledore knew of his parents' wishes was especially difficult. When he got to the part about Remus pretty much taking over, there were quite a few nods of appreciation for him. The next part, about the physical exam he really didn't want to tell so he tried to skip over it.

"Harry, I believe you're skipping something there. I know it's not pleasant, but I think for the sake of honesty you need to include it. ALL of it. It really helps to make the case against Dumbledore," said James.

Molly was appalled at that statement and went to defend the Headmaster, but Arthur put a hand on her arm, "Molly, let him tell the story. Let's not judge anyone until all of the facts are out."

Harry went into the story about the physical exam by the goblins and the fact that it took much longer than expected. The information about the physical issues were one area, but the magical issues brought Molly's maternal instincts out, "He did WHAT? He bound your magic AFTER you got to Hogwarts! And he put charms on you to make you hate the Dursleys? Next time I see that man I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. I should send him a howler tomorrow!"

"Mrs. Weasley, I know you mean well, but right now we don't want to let the man know just how much we have discovered of his meddling in my life. I think he'll be getting his just desserts soon enough."

When he got to the point about the horcrux, everyone in the room was horrified with the exception of the Grangers. They had no idea what he was talking about.

Remus helped out there, "Imagine someone has taken a piece of coal and inserted into you. Eventually it will leach into your system with the possibility of actually killing you. Right now we're trying to determine how to separate this lump of coal from Harry without doing damage to him. We hope to actually destroy the fragment after it's removed."

"They can do this?" asked Michelle.

"We think so. They're just trying to determine the best way to do it. It may take a bit, but if anyone can figure it out, the goblins can."

"Do you think Bill might be able to help?" asked Arthur.

"I don't know. If he would like to contact the goblins here through Griphook I don't see where there would be a problem on our end. I don't know how the goblins would feel about it. Also, we have a team from the goblins checking out the Dursley residence. We've asked for an analysis of the wards as well as any curses or charms placed on the Dursleys. We hope that will be taken care of this weekend."

Harry finished up his story, leaving out the parts about Sirius. They would find out soon enough. When he got to the part about Wizarding Family Services, as well as the muggle version, the Grangers jumped in.

"Harry, I think we can help you out with Children's Social Services. I think you're going to have a major toothache tomorrow. Since you know Hermione's parents are dentists you asked her if they could take a look at it for you," said Michelle.

"How is that going to help?"

"All health professionals are required by law to report signs of child abuse. If the malnutrition is as severe as you say it is, it will show up on x-rays. Then we can make a proper complaint to the authorities. We can report it directly to this Sandra Milton. This will keep you totally out of the reporting process."

"If you think that will work, I'd appreciate it. How do you want to do this?"

"We can pick you up tomorrow and take you over to our surgery. It's about an hour from here. It should only take about an hour for the exam and then the hour drive back. When the government offices open up on Monday, we can contact her."

"Remus?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately I have to be at Hogwarts by noon tomorrow. If you think we can be done by then I don't see how it can hurt."

"Good! We'll pick you up at eight outside the Leaky Cauldron."

Harry finally brought his story to a close, "We haven't checked out the other properties yet except for Potter Manor. It appears to be in good condition. We are planning to visit the other two over the holidays. I would like to invite all of you to join us. You can tell me whether you would prefer to go to the mountains or to the sea and we can go there. I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me these past couple of years. Please let me do this for you."

The teens in the room had already taken an unofficial vote, so Fred and George announced the result together, "Sea! We can see enough cold places at Hogwarts."

Harry laughed and told them it was a deal. It had grown late and now that he had an early morning appointment they prepared to leave. Harry took the portrait of his parents and resized it. Snuffles looked to be eager to leave as well. With thanks to Dobby, they set off on the return trip to the Leaky Cauldron.


	23. Dentists and Dinosaurs

**23\. Dentists and Dinosaurs**

Harry got up earlier than he usually did so he could eat and walk Snuffles before the Grangers picked him up. Hermione wanted to go with him, but he asked if she could make sure Snuffles had some company while he was gone. As much as he had shared with Hermione, he really didn't want to go into some of the things he had been through with the Dursleys with her. He felt her parents would respect his privacy more without her asking a thousand questions.

Remus had already floo'd over and was talking to Arthur and Molly when he entered the pub with Snuffles. Harry joined them and enjoyed a quiet breakfast while the adults talked. Remus was telling them what he planned to teach this year. His primary concern was for the fifth and seventh years and their success in passing their OWL and NEWT exams. Although he had the ministry objectives for those years, he was going to see where they were lacking first and ensure they understood the concepts they should have learned in prior years. He was quite sure that Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color would not be on either exam.

Hermione had gone outside to wait for her parents since they couldn't see the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. She brought them in for just a few minutes. While Remus and Harry were with the Grangers, the rest of the group would go into Diagon Alley and purchase their school supplies.

"Oh, I forgot! Be right back," and Harry ran back up to his room. A few minutes later he returned with the text for Divination.

"Please give this to Ron. I haven't had a chance to tell him I've changed from Divination to Ancient Runes. I had bought the book already when someone changed my mind," giving a glare to Remus for effect.

The group split up with Harry and Remus going with the Grangers. The first half of the journey had the adults talking about differences between the muggle and magical world. Finally Michelle started asking Harry questions they would need to know to make a credible case against the Dursleys.

"Harry, I know you don't want to go through this, but we do need to get some history from you so we can make your case believable. Whatever you tell us we promise not to tell anyone not directly related to your case, especially Hermione."

"Thank you, Ma'am. I appreciate this. I'll do my best to tell you what I can."

"You said the physical report talked about long term malnutrition. That is something that will show up on a dental exam easily. I'm not sure how magic will affect it."

Remus responded, "In many cases a person's magic can heal a witch or wizard when given enough time. It can't heal everything, but it makes it easier for them to recover if it is at all possible."

"What about physical abuse? I know you mentioned your cousin was the cause of several of the broken bones that were found, but what about your aunt and uncle?"

"My aunt only hit me once that I can remember. I'd burned the bacon one morning and she hit me with a frying pan."

"How old were you?"

"I think I was about five."

"Five years old and she expected you to fry up bacon! Is she insane? I wouldn't even let Hermione help in the kitchen until she was seven and could reach over the stove relatively easy. Do you know if you had a concussion?"

"I don't know. I know my head hurt for a couple of days and I was a bit dizzy."

"I think we can count that as a concussion. What about your uncle?"

"Mostly backhanded swats."

"Mostly?"

"Well, last year after Dobby came and dropped the pudding on their guests Uncle Vernon punished me rather more than usual."

"How?"

"With his belt."

"Did it leave any permanent marks?"

"I don't know. I can't see really back there that well."

"So was it just on your bum or other places too?"

Harry was getting very uncomfortable with this line of discussion but answered anyway, "Yes Ma'am. Other places. Mostly my back."

"Don't worry, we're not going to make you take off your clothes and show us."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few more minutes Ian announced, "Here we are."

After opening the door and cancelling the alarm, Harry and Remus were led to a small surgery suite. The Grangers went around turning on various lights and machines.

"The first thing we're going to do is take x-rays of your mouth. This will help us see any bone degeneration as well as cavities. When was the last time you saw a dentist, Harry?" asked Ian.

"I've never seen one."

"Never? What happened when your baby teeth came loose?"

"I always pulled them myself. When the first one came loose I asked Uncle Vernon about what I needed to do so the tooth fairy would visit me. He asked me to show him which one was loose. He took a pair of pliers and yanked it out of my mouth then threw the tooth in the rubbish bin. He said the tooth fairy didn't visit freaks. After that, I took care of it myself."

"What about cavities?"

"I guess I've never had one."

"Well this should be a record for us. A thirteen year old without a cavity, eh Michelle?"

"Yes. I think everything has warmed up now."

They asked Remus to step out of the room and placed a lead apron over Harry. They had to explain about radiation and some of its negative effects to them both for them to understand the purpose of the apron. It took about fifteen minutes to complete the set. Ian took them back to be developed while Michelle began the exam. She poked and prodded and scraped her way around Harry's mouth. Ian came back with the developed films on a piece of cardboard. He put the it up on a light box for them to see better. After a couple of minutes Ian spoke, "Your teeth are in impeccable shape, however the bones are very evident of malnutrition. See these places here and here? The bone has deteriorated. The only reason I can think of for your teeth not falling out of your mouth is your magic."

Michelle added, "If I didn't know differently, I'd say you'd just had your teeth cleaned. I didn't find any cavities at all which is highly unusual for someone of your age."

Harry looked at Remus, "Wouldn't skelegrow fix the bones in my mouth?"

Both Grangers asked at the same time, "What's skelegrow?"

"It is a potion designed to knit and repair bones. Madam Pomfrey used it on you last year after the idiot vanished the bones in your arm, correct?"

The Grangers looked horrified, "He did WHAT?"

"Last year I got hit by a rogue bludger and it broke my wrist. This idiot impersonating a professor tried to 'fix' it for me instead of sending me straight to the hospital wing. Rather than actually fixing the problem he vanished all of the bones in my arm."

"They can do that?" asked Michelle.

"Yes. It took all night for it to work and she couldn't give me any pain medicine but it's all good as new now."

"Well, let me get the form we need to fill out for Child Services so I can put down the correct information. I'm going to tell them that you are a friend of my daughter's from school and she was concerned about your welfare. We arranged for an exam right before you went back to school in order to avoid any retaliation by your guardians. I think that since Sandra is aware of your circumstances already this should just smooth things through the system for you. Now, is there anything else we can do for you?" said Michelle.

"No, thank you both. I appreciate you helping me."

"Nonsense Harry. It's the least we can do for you," said Ian.

The group piled back into the car for the return trip to London. The Grangers took time to point out places of interest to the two wizards that they may not have seen before.

On arriving back at the Leaky Cauldron, the Grangers agreed to join them for lunch at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Remus had to decline as he needed to complete some last minute packing in order to be at Hogwarts for lunch.

Harry went upstairs to find Hermione and Snuffles. She and Ginny were in their room waiting for him to return. Ginny knocked on her parents' door to let them know everyone was back. Harry went back downstairs to wait for the rest of the group to gather. When they were all assembled Harry let them in on the plan for the afternoon.

"OK, I think you all know we're having lunch at Florean's today. Well, I hope you don't have anything planned for the afternoon. There is a special treat on the menu, however it will require us to go into muggle London again. If there are things you've wanted to see or do in the muggle world, just let me know. Mr. Weasley, if you'll open the packet marked Destination #1 you can let everyone know what this afternoon's entertainment is. Arthur had to walk back up to their room for the package.

"Well, shall we see what adventure we have for today then?" he gently opened the package and pulled out a line of tickets, "We are going to something called a Cinema. What does it mean by 'Jurassic Park' Harry?"

"We're going to a muggle cinema that shows moving pictures. The one we're going to see is called 'Jurassic Park.' That's about all I know about it. It's the most popular motion picture show out right now."

Hermione jumped in, "It's a story about a group invited to the opening of a theme park built around the start of life on Earth. This is the time of dinosaurs and they find themselves stuck in the middle of it."

"Percy asked, "What's a dinosaur?"

"Think of it as the muggle version of how dragons came into being," replied Hermione.

"We are taking the Knight Limo to the cinema. It's a private car version of the Knight Bus except it doesn't try to kill you while you're riding in it," added Harry, "it's scheduled to pick us up at half one. This will be how we get to Kings Cross on Wednesday. Also, if you check each ticket, everyone gets their own bag of popcorn as well as a soda."

"What's a soda?" asked Percy.

"It's a muggle drink. Like flavored water with bubbles."

The group tromped out of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. Florean had been told to charge the meals for the group to Sirius' secret vault which was how the whole visit for the Weasleys was being funded. Sirius had set the vault up after he had fled his parents' house. Charlus Potter had provided the basic funding until his Uncle Alphard died and left him an inheritance. Sirius had continued to add to it even after he had graduated. Only the goblins and Sirius (and now Harry and Remus) knew that vault number 584 belonged to Sirius Black and not Orion Noble.

Ron thought he had died and gone to heaven when Florean handed them all menus and told them to order whatever they wanted. Molly gave him a stern look and he backed down (at least until it was time for dessert). Ian and Michelle had joined them as this was another chance to spend time with adult wizards and gave them an opportunity to learn more about their daughter's world. When dessert time rolled around, Florean brought Harry his sundae without even asking what he wanted. That earned him a glare from Hermione. Once everyone had had their fill, they went back into the Leaky Cauldron so that those who needed to could change. Harry took Snuffles upstairs to his room. Once the door was closed and locked, Sirius transformed.

"How did it go this morning, pup?"

"Fine. Do you know why skelegrow can grow back a whole arm but doesn't regrow bone in my jaw?"

"No, sorry. That's something to ask Poppy or even Snape."

"Well, they're going to contact the worker at Child Services on Monday. We'll see what happens."

"I'll just have a nice snooze while you go to the cinema."

"Why don't you have Dobby come and take you to Potter Hall?"

"If for any reason someone checks your room they'll be expecting to see a dog in here. Don't want to give anyone the idea that something is off."

"Oh. Right." Harry gave his godfather a quick hug and headed back out the door.

Harry went out to watch front for the Knight Limo to arrive. Just as he stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron, the sleek limousine drew up to the curb. Harry called for the rest of the group and they quickly made their way into the limo. The driver drove just as erratically as Ernie on the Knight Bus but it wasn't as pronounced. There was a lot of swaying back and forth but none of the front to back, side to side slamming he felt on the Knight Bus. They quickly arrived at their destination and exited the vehicle. Harry told the driver they should be ready to go back in about two and a half hours.

Harry asked Hermione if she or her parents could help the Weasleys in navigating the concession stand without causing a scene. They quickly went to the head of the line and quietly pulled the senior members of the family aside to tell them what to do. Stern glares were sent at the twins to behave until they got in their seats. Instead of them spreading out along one row they split up into three groups. The first group consisted of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny; the second group were Arthur, Molly, Percy and Michelle; the last group were the twins and Ian. This gave each group a muggle who could explain what was going on without creating a ruckus.

Two hours later they all staggered out of the cinema into the bright sunlight. They were all chattering about the dinosaurs and how they really were early forms of dragons. As soon as they got to the curb, the Knight Limo smoothly navigated over to them.


	24. Plotting Professors

24\. Plotting Professors

Remus had packed the last items he was going to need for Hogwarts. Once he got to his quarters he would summon Dobby for the remainder of his books and luggage. He threw some floo powder into the fire and said very clearly, "McGonagall's Office Hogwarts." After a series of twists and turns he stepped out into the Gryffindor Head of House's office.

"Minerva."

"Hello Remus. Cutting it a bit close?"

"I had a few matters that required my attention this morning."

Suspecting those "few matters" were related to Harry Potter, she just asked, "Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"Not at the present. You know that I have been summoned for trial tomorrow, correct."

"Yes. I intend to attend it as well. I want to be sure the real person responsible for James' and Lily's death is held responsible."

"As do I. I would, however, like to meet with you and Severus at a time convenient to you both."

Minerva quirked an eyebrow up when he included Severus in the discussion. She had assumed he would want to meet with her for various reasons, a few actually concerning his teaching position. That he did not want to include Albus did not surprise her.

"Why don't we plan to meet here after dinner? I will let Severus know. Now, why don't we go over to Albus' office so you can officially check in with him before going to your classroom?"

She led him to the entrance to the Headmaster's office and said "Ice Mice" to the gargoyle. It obediently hopped aside and allowed the two to ascend the stairs. Minerva knocked.

"Minerva, Remus, please come in."

"Albus," said Minerva.

"Hello Albus," said Remus.

"Remus, it is good to have you here! We are in dire need of someone who can lend credibility to the DADA position. Minerva will show you to your office and chambers. The office and classroom are the same as it was when you were here. Hopefully you will be able to navigate your way," he said with a chuckle.

"One would hope I could find it after all these years. I need to let you know that I will have to be absent from the castle tomorrow to attend Peter Pettigrew's trial. I have been summoned as a witness."

"Ah yes. You and Arthur were involved in his capture I believe."

"Yes. I want to see justice for James and Lily as well as Harry."

"And how is Harry? I was quite worried when I heard he had run away from his aunt and uncle's house. Cornelius alerted me to the fact he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and was taking a room there for the remainder of the holiday."

"He appears to be doing well. I also met his friends Ron and Hermione. Those three must be a force to be reckoned with. The Weasleys are keeping an eye on him now until they return to Hogwarts."

Minerva responded, "Trouble always seems to find them no matter what happens. The chief mischief makers actually are Ron's brothers George and Fred. Those two would give you and your group a run for the title of chief pranksters."

"It is good to know the Marauder tradition continues. I would like to address the rest of the staff at lunch if you don't mind. Albus, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to my rooms and drop a few things off. I will see you at lunch."

"Please let me know if there is anything you need."

With that, Minerva and Remus left the Headmaster's office. They walked in silence until they got to Remus' office. They both knew that the portraits could overhear them and could report back to Albus if they thought it was pertinent. Remus opened the door to his office. He quickly cast a _Muffliato_ so the one portrait in the room wouldn't hear him. "Is there a place that is relatively secure?"

"Not that I am aware of. There is at least one portrait in almost every room. Each living quarter has at least one portrait, usually in the sitting room. While those would provide some semblance of privacy, you would still need to go past a portrait," replied Minerva.

"I understand the second floor girl's bathroom is available," Remus said with a chuckle.

Minerva inhaled sharply, "I hardly think the Chamber of Secrets is a suitable place for a meeting nor do either of us speak Parseltongue."

"Well, apparently the bathroom itself is pretty secure if three second years can brew polyjuice potion and not be caught. However, I do believe I know a better location. If you and Severus could meet me on the seventh floor in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to do ballet I believe I can find us a suitable place."

"Now that sounds mysterious. Very well, we will meet you there at eight." With that, she took her leave.

Remus walked into his quarters and looked around. It appeared the Hogwarts elves had removed all traces of Lockhart's presence. He took the shrunken trunks out of his pockets and resized them.

"Dobby." The little elf popped in.

"Master Wolfie call Dobby?"

"Yes. Would you mind setting up my quarters for me? These are the trunks that I brought with me and the rest are in my bedroom at Potter Hall as we discussed."

"Of course Master Wolfie. Dobby take care of you."

"Thank you. I'll be in the Great Hall for lunch."

Remus made his way to the Great Hall. He introduced himself to the rest of the staff. The only ones present that he knew were Minerva, Severus, Filius Flitwick, Madam Pince, Poppy and Hagrid; he didn't count Filch as a member of the staff. Evidently someone had moved the house tables back and had transfigured the staff table into a large round one where everyone could see everyone else.

Albus walked in at that point, "Welcome back for another year of learning at Hogwarts. I believe you have all met our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Remus Lupin. Remus, I believe you had something you wished to enlighten the staff with."

Remus stood up and took a deep breath, "Those of you who have known me since I was a student at Hogwarts already know or suspect this about me but I feel it only right that everyone knows going into the start of the new school year. I am a werewolf. Severus has graciously agreed to prepare the Wolfsbane potion for me each month and Albus will be warding my spaces during the full moon. I wanted to ensure you were all aware of this as I suspect it will come out tomorrow at Peter Pettigrew's trial. If you have any questions or concerns as to how this will affect you or the students this school year I ask that you come and talk to me directly. Thank you."

Remus sat down. Although there was some murmurings around the table, nobody seemed to have a problem with it. Albus conducted an informal faculty meeting as they ate. Once everyone had completed their meals he dismissed them back to their offices to work on their pre-start tasks.

The afternoon passed quickly for Remus. He spent the majority of his time setting up his office and classroom. For some reason, the classroom still had a mild smell of garlic which Remus found interesting considering it had been over a year since the demise of Quirrell. One of the "benefits" he had as a werewolf was a heightened sense of smell. He kept coming upon various pictures of Lockhart everywhere he turned. He banished them as fast as possible. The supplemental reading books were in horrible shape as far as organization. The desks could use a good cleaning as well, but he figured he could save that for his first few detentions. He could picture James' reaction to that thought. One of his next items to find was a boggart. In a castle this big there had to be a couple. He would ask the other professors at dinner. If the other professors didn't know of one perhaps he could get the ghosts to help. Remus cast a _tempus_ and discovered that it was almost dinner time.

As he entered the Great Hall he saw Severus who gave him a small nod. Evidently Minerva must have talked to him about this evening. Minerva gave him a smile and an almost imperceptible nod. Filius came over to talk to him.

"Sorry I didn't speak to you at lunch, Remus. It is good to have you back in the castle. At least now we can ensure our students have a competent instructor for DADA this year. The last few have been less than stellar."

"I understand. Harry gave me an overview of the last two years here and I must admit you have been on a streak of bad professors. I will do my best to ensure the OWL and NEWT students have the skills they need for their exams this year. I suspect I will need to deviate from my plan of instruction to do so."

"I must agree with you. If there is anything I can do for you please let me know."

The staff took their seats with Remus finding himself sitting between Sybil Trelawney and Hagrid. If he could find two of the least likely people to be sitting near each other it would be those two.

Hagrid asked him, "How ya been doin perfessor?"

"Hagrid, you have known me how long now? I expect you to call me Remus as you did when I was a student."

Hagrid laughed, "Of course, Remus. Good ter have you 'ere."

About that time Sybil said to him, "May I read your tea leaves?"

Remus rolled his eyes but decided to play along. He saw the rest of the faculty looking on with interest.

"I see the grim! Death is stalking you. You must be very careful in your dealings with others. We would hate to lose you just as you start."

Remus chuckled, "Thank you Sybil but I don't think I'm at death's doorstep just at this moment." He was not going to mention that Sirius' animagus form resembled the grim.

Once everyone was finished Albus went around the table asking if anyone had any difficulties settling back in or needed anything. Nobody had anything to add until it got around to Remus.

"Actually, I was wondering if anyone had noticed a boggart in the castle. I need one for my third years this term."

Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor responded, "I was in the staff room earlier and I heard something knocking around the wardrobe in there. You might want to have a look."

"Thank you, I will. If you would all leave it there for the time being I would be very appreciative. I will also ask the ghosts if they may know of one. Once I have completed the task I will ensure it is properly banished."

With no one else having anything to bring up, they all adjourned to their respective areas. Remus decided to go to his quarters for a bit to see what Dobby had managed to do with everything. He was pleasantly surprised when he entered to find that he had brightened up the décor considerably. Where there had been dark wood furniture there was now a fabric covered sofa in a forest print with matching side chairs. The end and coffee tables were of a brighter shade of brown. There was a hearth rug which complemented the rest of the room. He looked around and the portrait he had noticed when he had entered earlier was no longer present. He wondered what Dobby had done with it. He proceeded to his bedroom and found it to be an exact replica of his room at Potter Hall. He noticed there was a second bedroom which now sported a more comfortable look - it could have been copied out of the Gryffindor dorms. With everything in order he proceeded up to the seventh floor.

Severus was waiting for him but Minerva hadn't made it there yet.

"Well, wolf, are we going to have tea in the middle of an empty hallway?"

"Have patience Severus. I take it you've never been in this part of the castle?"

"Why ever would I need to learn how to teach trolls to do ballet?"

At that point Minerva joined them, "I do hope you've selected a better meeting place than an empty hallway."

They watched him as he paced in front of the empty wall. After the third time, a door appeared in the wall. Both Minerva and Severus were surprised. Remus opened the door and ushered them in. They found themselves in a comfortable sitting area.

Minerva broke the silence, "Would you mind telling me what this is?"

"Have you ever heard of the Room of Requirement? It is also known as the Come-And-Go Room. We stumbled upon it in our fourth year. You think about what you need the room to be, walk in front of the wall three times and a door should appear. When you open it, the room should be as you requested. If you happened to be outside right now all you would see is the empty wall. It is an excellent place to go when you need privacy. I had considered the second floor girls toilet as you know, Minerva, but I was afraid Moaning Myrtle would interrupt.

"And how do you know about the second floor girl's toilet, wolf?" asked Severus.

"That is where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is."

"And just how did you find that out?"

"Harry told me. He also told me he fought a 70 foot long basilisk."

"I'm sure the pampered prince was exaggerating. He probably saw a three foot long garter snake and embellished it further."

"No. It was definitely a basilisk. You can confirm it with Albus. That is what was in the Chamber of Secrets. It can only be reached by someone who can speak Parseltongue."

Severus' eyes grew wide at the prospect of basilisk parts for potions.

"Settle down, Severus. The goblins are going to give us an estimate of the cost to harvest it as well as the approximate value. I'm sure Harry will be happy to provide you with some ingredients for your stores. Now, the reason I've asked to speak with you is to let you know what has happened since we last met at Gringotts. I'm sure Albus was quite curious as to what happened at the will reading."

Minerva answered, "He summoned us to his office to try and, I believe the saying is, pick our brains."

Severus added, "I felt a brush of Legillimency but I quickly repelled it. If he was rash enough to try that with me he must be desperate for some information."

"As you learned at the reading, Harry was placed with Lily's sister and her husband. Until Hagrid came to deliver his letter, he had no idea he was a wizard. He was told his parents died in a car accident," continued Remus.

"They told him Lily was killed in a common car wreck? Preposterous!" said Severus.

"Preposterous as it may seem, that is a fact. Minerva, did you know that his first Hogwarts letter was addressed to 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs'?"

"The WHAT? Unfortunately I do not see the letters after they are addressed. An autoquill takes care of that. Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"It does. Until Harry got his Hogwarts letter, his room, and I use that term loosely, was a boot cupboard under the stairs. To put it bluntly, he grew up being a house elf for the Dursleys."

Severus had to interrupt, "Surely he just meant he had a few chores to do that he didn't like." This was seriously smashing the image he had of Potter being a pampered prince having his every whim catered to.

"No, Severus. I mean he was the Dursleys' house elf. He did most of the cooking, all of the cleaning, the laundry, yard work and any other task they needed done. On top of that, when he cooked, most of the time he wasn't allowed to eat it."

"I told Albus those muggles were no good!" said Minerva, her voice rising.

"Minerva, how would you rate Harry's practical talent in Transfiguration?" asked Remus.

"A little above average. Why?"

"Would it make a difference if you knew his magic had been bound and he only had sixty percent of his core available?"

"Who would do such a thing? I know James bound his magic when he was young because he was always doing accidental magic. I believe it was suppose to release before he came to Hogwarts."

"You are correct. James set it so that it would release on his tenth birthday so that his core would stabilize before he began school here. It seems the Headmaster had other ideas because he bound it again when Harry started here."

"Remus, please tell me you are joking."

"No I'm not, Minerva. I have another question for you. Did you ever have Poppy run a complete medical scan on him?"

"Not as a routine. He was in the hospital wing several times; I just assumed she ran one as a matter of course."

Remus reached into his robes and found the parchment from the goblins giving Harry's medical exam results. "We had the goblins run a complete medical and magical scan on him. Here are the results. Please, take your time reading."

Remus sat back and watched the faces of both professors. Shouts of "That's outrageous," "That old coot," "I can't believe he did that," and "the muggles did all of that?" were heard. Once things had calmed down, Remus continued, "The goblins have removed the block as well as removed the charms on Harry. We are going to have to be careful that Albus does not detect this. I have been working with Harry the past several days so that he can learn to control his new magical abilities. Amelia Bones signed a waiver for his use of underage magic. Another thing that apparently was affected was his memory. With the block removed, Harry has a much easier time remembering facts and information. I also worked with him on his handwriting. Did no one ever show him the proper way to use a quill, Minerva?"

"The prefects are suppose to show the muggleborns."

"But do they show the muggle RAISED?"

She paused for a moment, "I see your point. I will make sure that is rectified in all houses this year."

"Severus, Harry will need to take a nutritional supplement for the foreseeable future. The goblins gave him enough to get him through until he returned here. Would you be able to supply him?"

"Yes. Actually, it is not a complicated potion. I'm sure I could teach the bookworm and him how to brew it if they would like to. I will not allow him to use it if it does not meet my standards. Based on the medical report I would estimate that two months on the supplement should bring him in line with his year group."

"Thank you. I will arrange for Poppy to check him out the first of November. Now, I have not told Albus about my appointment as the Potter Steward. He will not be happy. I'm not sure how Augusta notified the Wizengamot of her status as the proxy for the Potter seat. I suspect he will be even more unhappy with me. We have accessed the main Potter vault. Harry has the journal Lily referenced in the will for you, Severus. I believe he has another surprise to show you both that he found in the vault. I'm not sure I know of a way to have him bring this to you without arousing suspicion."

"I doubt it will take me any effort to arrange a detention for him," said Severus.

"That would be excellent. I will let him know to expect it. Severus, Harry has told me about your treatment of him. I implore you to look beyond his resemblance to James and see the heart of Lily. He told me about his first day of class with you. Even I didn't know where to find a bezoar until my third year. Did you notice that he was writing down everything you said? Before you interrupt, I did counsel him about his inappropriate response to you."

"He was what?"

"Yes, he was writing down everything you were saying. He showed me his notebook from first year and it had "bottle fame, brew glory and the other points you were trying to make. Remember this is a boy that had known about magic for a month and could barely scratch something legible with a quill."

"I will give him no special treatment, but if he keeps pulling his usual dunderheaded stunts he will answer for them."

"That is all I ask. I believe both you and his other professors will see a different Harry this term. I worked with him on his homework. No, I did not do it for him, but I made sure he did a commendable job and it is definitely more legible. I'm sure all of his professors will appreciate that. I have one more favor to ask. If you could let his other professors know about his change in abilities without alerting the Headmaster, we would both appreciate it. If he asks how Harry is doing in his studies I would ask that they give him similar responses as you have in the past. Do you have any other questions that I may be able to answer?"

Both professors shook their heads no.

"Minerva, I will be leaving for the Ministry at eight in the morning. Amelia wanted to meet with me before the trial starts at nine."

"Thank you for letting me know. I plan to be there as well."

Severus also responded, "As do I."

"One other thing I think we should do is to scan both of you for any charms. If Harry had those charms on him, I wouldn't put it past the old man to place them on you.

"He wouldn't dare," spat Severus.

"We'll only know if we check. I had the wizard Gringotts used to remove the ones on Harry show me the charm to keep a check on Harry. If you will permit me, Severus."

The man gave a reluctant nod and Remus waved his wand while chanting the spell he had been taught. After a few minutes a parchment with the results popped into the room. Remus picked it up and scanned it, frowning.

"Well, wolf. What does it say?"

"Just as I suspected, there is an aversion charm on you but it was placed during your second year at Hogwarts."

"Second year teaching?"

"No, second year as a student. Apparently the Headmaster wanted you and James to be sworn enemies almost from the beginning of meeting each other."

Realizing getting angry at Lupin would do him no good, he merely nodded. "I suppose you are able to also release the charm?"

"Yes. It should only take a minute more." Again Severus nodded to Remus. He took his wand and proceeded to chant the charm to counter the spell. Once he had completed it, he put down his wand.

"You should be free of all charms now, Severus. I still would keep a public persona as you do now so as not to tip off the Headmaster that we have discovered some of his handiwork. I will leave it up to you as to how or if you discuss this with Harry."

"As you wish."

"Minerva, would you like me to check you?"

"Of course."

Remus again waved his wand, this time over Minerva, and chanted the detection charm. After a couple of minutes another parchment popped into the room. Remus picked it up and looked at it.

"I'm afraid to ask, Remus."

"In your case he's placed a compulsion charm so that you pretty much agree with whatever the Headmaster wants. It was placed just after he left Harry at the Dursleys."

"I'll show him a compulsion charm. How dare he! Please remove it, Remus."

Remus repeated the same charm for Minerva that he had for Severus. Once completed he lowered his wand.

"That should be all of the charms. We may also want to check Poppy."

"Why her?" asked Minerva.

"If Harry's been in the hospital wing as many times as he's said, she should have noticed some of the damage he'd sustained. At the least she should have known he had not had the required wizard vaccinations."

"Of course. We will have to determine how best to approach her, but we should do it soon. I will be happy to go with you when you decide it's time," answered Minerva.

"Thank you both. I'm sure Harry will appreciate your support. As for tomorrow, the Weasleys and Hermione will be escorting him to the trial. Amelia didn't think they would need to call him or Ron, but they will be there just in case. I totally expect Peter's solicitor to drag my status about being a werewolf through as much mud as possible which is why I made sure it was out in the open with the other professors. Now, I think we've had enough for one evening. Thank you both."

They departed the seventh floor to their respective quarters. Severus had a look of deep contemplation as his feet automatically took him to the dungeons. How could his preconception of Potter be so thoroughly crushed?


	25. Sealed with a Kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, I just borrowed them for a bit. Thank you J.K. Rowling**

 **A/N: Here's a nice LONG chapter for you**

 **25\. Sealed with a Kiss**

Sunday came bright and early for several guests of the Leaky Cauldron. Tom was busy serving breakfast to them. Harry had put on his formal robes with the Potter crest as Remus had instructed him. While his day robes would be considered appropriate for the occasion, they felt the gravity of the situation dictated he should present a dignified presence as the Potter Heir and the last descendant of the Potter line. The Weasleys were more modestly dressed while still appreciating the seriousness of the situation for Harry. Once everyone had eaten they headed to the floo to get to the Ministry.

Arthur went first so he could clean everyone off before proceeding into the Ministry proper. Other than Molly, Percy was the only other one of the group who could legally use his wand. Harry hadn't told them about his waiver. It was just one other thing that would set him apart and Ron had already had enough of those instances to deal with. Molly had taken up the rear ensuring everyone else successfully traversed the floo network.

The group headed for the security desk and were quickly processed through. Arthur led them to the lifts and down to Courtroom Ten. This was the largest courtroom in the Ministry. It allowed for the full Wizengamot as well as a large public gallery. Members of the Wizengamot in their plum colored robes were milling around and talking with each other. Remus noticed Harry and the rest of the group had arrived and went over to get Harry and Ron so they could talk to Director Bones.

"You look very nice, Harry. That was definitely a smart buy for formal robes. Ron, how are you?" said Remus.

"I'm fine, Remus."

Amelia saw they had arrived and walked over, "Thank you both for coming. I really don't see a need to call either of you, but you never know what tricks the defense might try and pull. Ronald would actually be the most likely since Pettigrew had been living with him for years. Harry, as much as it pains me to say this, you are here for the shock effect as the grieving orphan hoping to discover the real reason for your parents' death. I know you will try to be as stoic as possible but in this case I suggest you let your feelings show. We want everyone to not doubt the damage Pettigrew has done to you."

Everyone started making their way to their seats as Dumbledore and Fudge entered the courtroom. Once everyone was seated Dumbledore banged his gavel down and said, "The Wizengamot is now in session. All ye who have business before this body rise and state your case. Now, before we begin, does the Clerk have any new notices that need to be published since the last meeting?"

The Clerk stood, "Chief Warlock, Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, one notice has been received since the previous meeting. The goblins have provided notice that as a result of the properly executed will of James Charlus Potter and Lily nee Evans Potter, the Proxy for the Potter seat in the Wizengamot has been assigned to Augusta Longbottom until such time as the Heir, Harry Potter, reaches his majority. Is Madam Longbottom present?"

Augusta stood in her place as the Longbottom Regent and, knowing the proper procedures for this, raised her wand, "I, Augusta Longbottom, assume proxy for the House of Potter until such time as Heir Potter attains his majority. I swear on my life and magic to represent the House in honesty and integrity in all matters before this body. So mote it be." A golden light briefly flashed around her and then died. She then resumed her seat.

Albus Dumbledore was taken by surprise. Dedalus Diggle had been voting that seat since the Potter's death. He had handpicked him knowing he would vote the way Albus wanted him to. He watched Dedalus leave his seat in the Wizengamot and take up one in the gallery. Apparently the Potters had done more than just pass their fortune to Harry. What else had slipped through his fingers because of that will?

"Thank you Augusta. I am sure you will represent the Potters admirably. Any further business before we address the matter at hand?"

With no other business to handle he went forward with the main reason for the meeting. "Very well. We will now proceed with the trial of Peter Pettigrew. Madam Bones, I yield the floor to you."

Amelia stood, "Aurors, please bring in the accused." The doors opened and four Aurors surrounded Pettigrew and escorted him into the room. A chair with chains stood in the middle of the room. Once seated, the chains surrounded his body with the exception of his feet. They were manacled as they had been in the holding cell with animagus restricting charms.

"Thank you Chief Warlock. Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot. I present to you Peter Ignatius Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew, you are charged with the following crimes: Conspiracy to commit murder by revealing the location of James Charlus Potter, Lily nee Evans Potter and Harry James Potter, for which you were the secret keeper; thirteen counts of murder for your responsibility in causing the death of thirteen muggles in your effort to escape justice; escape to avoid prosecution; and being an unregistered animagus. How do you plead?"

"Nnnott Ggguilty."

Harry looked at the little rat of a man and tried to find a little bit of pity for him, but somehow he just couldn't.

"The prosecution calls Remus Lupin."

Remus strode to the witness chair and took the seat.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Remus John Lupin."

"Your current position."

"Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."

"Do you have any personal connection to the Potters?"

"Yes. James, Lily and I were all friends at Hogwarts. I am also the Steward for the Potter Family as per their recently executed will."

Albus looked up shocked. Remus was the Steward! What else from that will was going to surprise him?

"You came to me on August 19th with a request. Please elaborate for the court your reasons."

"I had recently discovered that Peter Pettigrew was alive."

"What led you to this conclusion?"

"I had seen the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ which pictured the Weasley family in Egypt. Perched on the youngest son's shoulder was a rat. I knew immediately it was Peter."

"How did you know this?"

"Peter and I were in the same year at Hogwarts and he was also in Gryffindor. During our fifth year, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew learned how to become animagi. Peter's form was a rat. I saw him in that form many times and knew his markings by heart. Knowing the Weasley children would be at Hogwarts, I began making plans to trap him."

"What made you change your plan?"

"I had a chance to speak with Harry Potter when I was named the Potter Steward. He was able to confirm the rat owned by Ronald Weasley was missing a toe. He also confirmed that the rat had been with the Weasley family for many years, much longer than a common house rat. He also told me that Ronald had told him the rat was not feeling well after the trip to Egypt and wanted to have someone at the Magical Menagerie take a look at him. With that information I came to you to help set up a trap."

Peter's solicitor stood up, "Objection! Hearsay."

"Let me rephrase. Mr. Lupin, how did you know about the Weasley boy's plan to come to Diagon Alley?"

"Harry received an owl from him and allowed me to read it."

"And?"

"Young Mr. Weasley stated that his rat was not feeling well after their trip to Egypt and wanted to take him to the Magical Menagerie to see what could be done with it."

"What was your proposal?"

"That we station Aurors at the Magical Menagerie during the time we expected the Weasleys to be in Diagon Alley. Harry and I would accompany Ronald to the shop where your Aurors would place the rat in a cage which would prevent him from transforming until we could get him to the ministry."

"What was the result of this plan?"

"Arthur Weasley and I accompanied the boys to the Magical Menagerie. Right before we left the Leaky Cauldron I warned Arthur that his son's rat was going to be captured and to just play along. Once they reached the Magical Menagerie, Auror Dawlish was posing as a customer and Auror Trainee Tonks was posing as the shop clerk. Once Ronald placed the rat on the counter for her to take a look, she placed it directly into the warded cage. Auror Dawlish then identified himself and Auror Trainee Tonks as representatives of the DMLE. The six of us then took a portkey to the Ministry's holding cells. They had prepared a cell specifically warded against animagi. Upon the arrival of yourself and the Minister, Auror Dawlish then performed the animagus revealing spell. The rat turned into Peter Pettigrew, the man you see there."

Since Harry had been there for all of this, he didn't pay as close attention to the testimony, instead he looked around at the gallery. He was surprised at the number of people who were there. Over in one section, it appeared, were members of the press. There were quills rapidly writing everything they were hearing. He surveyed the audience to see who he might know. He saw Professor McGonagall and also Professor Snape. He thought he was going to have to find out exactly what was going on with Snape and his family. There had to be a story there nobody had bothered to tell him about.

"Thank you Professor Lupin. Mr. Oxburn?"

"Thank you Madam Bones. Mr. Lupin, you stated that you, Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew were friends at Hogwarts."

"Correct. We met after we were all sorted into Gryffindor. I believe James and Sirius actually met on the Hogwarts Express."

"And these three men all became animagi."

"Yes."

"Is there a reason you didn't become one?"

"Yes. I am unable to become an animagus."

"Is this due to a magical problem or another reason?"

"Another reason."

"And that would be?"

"I believe the question you are trying to ask, Mr. Oxburn, is whether or not I am a werewolf? The answer is yes."

There were a lot of murmurs throughout the courtroom. Albus banged his gavel and asked for order.

"Yes, thank you. Until you saw the picture in the Prophet did you suspect that Mr. Pettigrew was still alive?"

"No."

"I have no further questions."

"Thank you Mr. Lupin. You may return to your seat. The prosecution calls Auror Dawlish."

Dawlish made his way to the witness chair and took his seat.

"Auror Dawlish, you are listed as the arresting Auror for Peter Pettigrew. Please tell us what happened to lead to this arrest."

"You called Senior Auror Scrimgeour, Auror Trainee Tonks and myself into your office on August 20th with an assignment for us. You stated that you had information that Peter Pettigrew was possibly alive and wanted our participation in his capture. You said you had information that Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus with the form of a rat and that an opportunity to arrest him would present itself to us on either August 27th or August 28th. You requested Auror Trainee Tonks and myself pose as a shop worker and customer at the Magical Menagerie. You said that the rat was currently in possession of the youngest male child of Arthur Weasley. He would be accompanied by Harry Potter, Remus Lupin and probably Arthur Weasley. We were to take a warded cage with us to ensure the rat wasn't able to get away once caught. On Friday morning, August 27th, Auror Trainee Tonks and I went to the Magical Menagerie and talked with the shopkeeper, Barnabas Membly, about our assignment. Mr. Membly allowed us to work the front counter of the store with the understanding if any other customers came in he would be allowed to serve them. At approximately half one, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger entered the Magical Menagerie. Miss Granger went to look at the other animals while young Mr. Weasley waited for me to move away from the counter. He then told Auror Trainee Tonks about the problem his rat was having. When she asked him to put the rat on the counter, she then took the rat from the young man and placed it in the security cage we brought with us. We then identified ourselves as Aurors. Mr. Weasley asked his wife to remain in Diagon Alley with their other children. We then took the portkey we had been given for this assignment and took the captured rat, Harry Potter, Ronald and Arthur Weasley, and Remus Lupin with us to the Ministry. We had the jailer summon you as we had agreed. Once everyone was there, we secured the cell we had warded against animagi and let the rat loose. It attempted to find a way to escape. I cast the animagus revealing spell on him and he transformed into Peter Pettigrew; the man currently seated in the prisoner's chair."

"Were you able to positively determine the identity of the prisoner?"

"We asked him what his name was and he told us it was Peter Pettigrew."

"Did you ask him anything else?"

"Yes. I asked him if he had betrayed James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who. He stated he did. We then arrested him on that charge as well as the murder of thirteen muggles."

"Did anything else happen before you left the holding cell?"

"Yes. Mr. Lupin asked if I would check his left arm for the Dark Mark."

"What did you find?"

"Mr. Pettigrew did have the Dark Mark on his left forearm."

There were quite a few gasps throughout the gallery because of this revelation.

"I have no further questions. Mr. Oxburn?"

"Auror Dawlish, did you use Veritaserum when you questioned my client?"

"No I did not."

"May I ask why?"

"We did not feel it was necessary. He had provided us with the information we had requested plus we knew he would be questioned under Veritaserum at his trial."

"I have no further questions."

"I call the prisoner Peter Pettigrew. Auror Shacklebolt please administer the Veritaserum to the accused."

Kingsley Shacklebolt walked over to Pettigrew and asked him to open his mouth and stick out his tongue. When he refused to open his mouth Shacklebolt called for Auror Jones to assist him. She raised her wand to cast a spell to compel him to open his mouth but before she could, he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Auror Shacklebolt then administered three drops of Veritaserum to the prisoner's tongue which was confirmed by Auror Jones. Director Bones began her questioning after a minute's pause to allow the potion to work.

"Please state your full name."

"Peter Ignatius Pettigrew," he said in a monotone voice.

"Mr. Pettigrew are you a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, also known as You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord and Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"When did you become a marked follower?"

"June of 1981."

"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters?"

"Yes."

"When did this happen?"

"They went into hiding in October 1981. Originally they had planned to have Sirius Black be the Secret Keeper. Sirius convinced them to use me instead as he would be an obvious choice."

"Did you agree to be the Secret Keeper?"

"Yes."

"Why did you agree?"

"I knew the Dark Lord wanted to kill the Potters and that if I told him where they were he would reward me greatly."

"When did you tell You-Know-Who how to find the Potters?"

"The middle of October."

"What happened after you told him of their location?"

"He arranged for other Death Eaters to create a diversion in several muggle neighborhoods so the Aurors would be searching far away from Godric's Hollow. The Dark Lord went by himself to the house even after others begged to go with him."

Gasps of horror, exclamations of disgust and other comments spread through the gallery as well as members of the Wizengamot. Dumbledore admonished them again to remain quiet.

"What happened next?"

"I heard very quickly that the Potters had died but also that the Dark Lord had been killed. I knew Sirius would be trying to find me so I ran. He finally caught up to me in the middle of a street in Bristol. There were quite a few muggles in the area. Lily had taught all of us about how muggle houses were powered and that many of the wires and tubes ran under the street. Sirius confronted me. Instead of allowing him to capture me, I sent a severing charm over my little finger, sent a blasting curse into the street then quickly transformed into my rat form and ran down a nearby sewer."

"What did you do next?"

"I went searching for a wizarding family to live with. I knew they wouldn't think anything was strange about a rat living longer than a few years. I ended up in Ottery St. Catchpole and found the Weasley family. I've been with them ever since."

"One last question. Do you regret your part in the deaths of the Potters, the orphaning of their son Harry and the deaths of thirteen muggles?"

"No. I didn't have a choice. He was going to kill me. I had to do it."

Again mutters and gasps spread throughout the courtroom. Harry felt the eyes of the majority of those in attendance on him. He had never really felt like he wanted to physically harm anyone, even the Dursleys, but he did want to hurt Peter Pettigrew.

"Mr. Oxburn?"

Knowing he couldn't present a defense against his client's testimony he just answered "No questions."

"Auror Shacklebolt, please administer the antidote."

Kingsley went back over to the prisoner and asked him to put out his tongue again. When he did, he placed three drops of the antidote on his tongue and moved away from him.

"Chief Warlock, Minster Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, I submit that as Peter Pettigrew has confessed to his responsibility in the deaths of James and Lily Potter, the deaths of thirteen muggles and turning into his unregistered animagus form in order to avoid prosecution, you convict him of these crimes and sentence him to the Dementor's Kiss."

Now that the testimony was over and they didn't have to be quiet in order to hear it, everyone in the courtroom began talking excitedly. Dumbledore finally banged his gavel and asked for order. When that didn't work, he set off red and gold sparks from his wand, finally getting everyone's attention.

"Thank you. If the Aurors would remove the prisoner to the holding cell. This courtroom will be cleared of all people not part of the Wizengamot until a decision has been made. Once that is complete we will notify you of our time to reassemble and render a verdict. We are adjourned."

Everyone made for the door. Director Bones gathered up Harry, Remus, the Weasleys and Hermione and directed them to a chamber off of the courtroom.

"I'm sure this will be a lot more comfortable for you than being out with the wolves, especially Rita Skeeter. I'll have tea sent in for you. Is there anything else you need?"

Arthur spoke for the group, "No, thank you, Amelia. We are all in your debt for this."

"I am just happy that justice will finally be done. Once this is over we can only hope that Sirius Black will turn himself in so that he can be properly cleared and an apology tendered." She looked at Remus when she made that last statement.

Remus went over to Harry who was looking rather distraught.

"How are you holding up cub?"

"OK I guess."

"I know you are not OK, but that's fine. You know the truth now about why your parents were targeted and who was responsible for. It's not going to make it all better but it's a start. Why don't we have a cup of tea and relax for a few minutes?"

They walked over to the rest of the group and picked up a cup of tea and a biscuit. Harry deftly avoided a smothering hug from Molly and sat down near Hermione.

"How are you doing Harry?"

"Fine."

"I know you aren't fine, but you will be. Can I help you with anything?"

"No, thanks Hermione. I just want this to be over. Maybe I can have a normal year at Hogwarts for a change."

"I'm not sure anything with you could be considered normal, Harry," she said with a smile.

He laughed, "I guess you're right."

Remus walked back over, "You do realize you will have to face the press after this, don't you?"

"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to dealing with Rita Skeeter. What's up with her anyway?"

"She's got an unofficial nickname of cobra. She grabs hold of her victim and doesn't let go until she's squeezed the life out of them. I believe you will be able to defang her very soon."

"How are you going to be able to do that?" asked Hermione.

Harry laughed and gave her a calculating grin, "I happen to own twenty-five percent of the _Daily Prophet_."

"Oh Harry! That is evil."

Ron came over, "What are you two talking about?"

Harry answered, "Rita Skeeter."

"That woman is a menace if there ever was one."

Harry and Hermione nodded at him in agreement.

After a total of an hour, there was a knock on the door and Director Bones stuck her head in, "They're allowing people back into the courtroom now."

They filed out of the anteroom and into the courtroom. Once everyone had resumed their seats and the door was closed, Dumbledore had the Aurors bring in the prisoner.

"The Wizengamot has met and passed judgment on the accused. If the Clerk will read the verdict."

"We, the members of the Wizengamot, have met to consider the case against Peter Ignatius Pettigrew. To the charge of being a Death Eater, we find the prisoner guilty. To the charge of conspiring to commit the murder of James Charlus Potter, Lily nee Evans Potter and Harry James Potter we find the prisoner guilty. To the charge of the murders of thirteen muggles, we find the prisoner guilty. To the charge of escape to avoid prosecution we find the prisoner guilty. To the charge of being an unregistered animagus we find the prisoner guilty. Having found the prisoner guilty of all charges, the members of the Wizengamot sentence you be stripped of your magic and be given the Dementor's Kiss. This sentence is to be carried out immediately."

It was pandemonium in the courtroom as everyone began talking. Albus tried again to silence the room. Finally realizing he was not going to get their attention this way he cast a _Sonorus_ charm and said "Silence! Thank you. The prisoner will be transferred immediately to Azkaban to carry out the sentence. Aurors, remove the convicted prisoner."

The Aurors moved to surround Pettigrew. He began crying and pleading to anyone whom he thought would listen. The senior Auror got tired of it and put a silencing charm on the ratman. Once that was done and the man properly bound, he was led from the room.

"Is there any more business for the Wizengamot at this time?" After surveying the room and finding no takers he said, "Minister, I believe you had a few words to say before we adjourn."

"Thank you, Chief Warlock. We have arranged a press conference in the Atrium. I ask that you allow Mr. Potter and his party to leave the courtroom first. Once they have departed then the Wizengamot members will leave. After they have departed, you will be free to go. The Clerk will be in charge of this process."

At that comment, Harry, Remus, Hermione and the Weasleys made their way out. Someone in the back of the room started clapping and it was picked up around the room. By the time they reached the door the entire gallery was on their feet and clapping for the young wizard.

The Minister's assistant was outside the courtroom door waiting for them. "If you will follow me I will escort you upstairs. Do you want to take a moment to freshen up?" he asked Harry.

"No. I'd rather get this over with."

The group entered the lift and ascended to the Atrium. A platform had been set up as it had the day of the announcement of Pettigrew's capture. There was a screen off to the side to allow them to gather there with some semblance of privacy. Harry took a few deep breaths.

"Remus, will you go out there with me?"

"Of course, cub. I would never feed you to those wolves."

Minister Fudge walked up at that time along with Dumbledore.

"Harry, thank you for being here. Would you like to make a statement first or just answer their questions?" asked Fudge.

"I don't have anything prepared but I think I would like to say something first if you don't mind."

"No, no, not at all."

"I have asked Remus to come up on stage with me."

"Of course."

Albus looked perturbed. He thought that Harry would have asked him to go with him. Something had definitely put a fly in his plans.

The three men walked up on the stage and Fudge walked to the microphone set up there. After asking everyone to quiet down, he said, "Thank you for coming. Mr. Potter would like to say a few words and then we will open it up for questions." Harry walked up to the microphone nervously playing with his robes.

"Thank you all for being here. I'm not sure I knew what to expect. I didn't find out how my parents died until I was eleven. Until then, I was told they had died in a car accident by my muggle relatives. Then I find out that they were killed by an evil wizard who also tried to kill me. This summer I discovered that not only had my parents been murdered but one of their best friends was responsible. I had started to accept that fact until I found out that the person who everyone thought was responsible was really innocent. Well, today the right man was given a fair trial and convicted. Before you ask me if I think sentencing him to the Dementor's Kiss is a bit harsh ask yourself this: If it had been your parents murdered when you were just a baby, would you want the responsible person to live? I hope that now we have taken care of the right person that my godfather, Sirius Black, will come out of hiding and turn himself in. I want to have the chance that many of you take for granted. I want to have a normal childhood with someone who cares about me. I want a family too." Harry couldn't help taking a swipe at the tears sliding down his cheeks. He looked at the Minister and gave him a nod.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. We will now take questions from the group. Please try and be orderly for a change. Who is first? Of course, Miss Skeeter."

"Harry, may I call you Harry? Assuming Sirius Black is cleared of all charges, what do you want to happen?"

"My parents named him as my godfather and he was to be the one to raise me in their absence. I hope that their wishes are honored." After that, Harry was unable to keep track of who was asking the questions.

"Mr. Lupin, what is your role with Mr. Potter?"

"Harry's parents named me the Potter Steward to oversee the finances and business operations for Harry. I plan to perform my duties to the best of my abilities until Harry is of age to handle them himself."

"Minister, what do you think about a werewolf teaching at Hogwarts?"

"I trust that Headmaster Dumbledore has evaluated all of the risks and has taken appropriate steps to mitigate any danger."

Remus stepped up, "If I may respond to this question, Minister. I was at Hogwarts for seven years and there were no incidents where anyone was endangered by me. The Potions Master, Severus Snape, will brew the Wolfsbane potion for me and Professor Dumbledore will ward my spaces to ensure no one will have entry until the full moon has passed. This is much more security than I had as a student."

"Mr. Potter, are you looking forward to your next year at Hogwarts?"

"Yes. I look forward to a normal year at school."

"Mr. Potter, what do you think your parents would say if they were here now?"

"Well, if my parents were here now we wouldn't be having this meeting." The audience chuckled at that remark.

"Minister what will you do if Sirius Black turns himself in?"

"If Mr. Black turns himself in, I guarantee his safety until we can verify his story matches that of Peter Pettigrew. That will determine the next steps."

"Minister, it was said earlier that Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban without a trial. How do you explain that?"

"Those were difficult times and good people had to make hard choices. It is unfortunate that this happened, but we will ensure it doesn't happen again."

"Minister, are there any others in Azkaban who were never given a trial?"

"I have charged the Director of Magical Law Enforcement to review the case files for all people incarcerated at Azkaban to ensure everyone had the proper trials and the proper sentences are being carried out. Now, if you don't mind, I believe Mr. Potter is ready to leave."

Harry was thankful that Fudge actually thought about him. The Minister was getting well roasted. He and Remus walked back over to the screen.

Remus said, "I need to see if I can find Minerva to tell her I'm going back to the Leaky Cauldron with you for a little while. I'll be right back."

Mrs. Weasley came over and wrapped him in a hug, "Oh you poor dear. Having to go through all of this again."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley. At least they're getting it right this time."

They all floo'd back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry went upstairs to change clothes then take Snuffles out for a walk. While Remus waited for him to come down Arthur took him aside.

"Is there something I should know about Snuffles?"

"Not at the moment. Harry has an appointment first thing in the morning with the Potter Family solicitor. Snuffles usually goes with him."

"I see. Well I won't say anything more."

Harry quickly changed and told Snuffles to come with him. Other than telling him that the rat had been kissed, he didn't elaborate further. After a quick walk, Remus, Harry and Snuffles went back into Harry's room. Once the appropriate privacy and silencing charms were erected Snuffles transformed into Sirius and Harry resized his parents' portrait.

"So the rat is no more?" asked Sirius for the Potters' benefit.

"What exactly happens when someone gets Kissed by the Dementors?" asked Harry.

"They lose their sense of self. Most people's bodies live on for a short while but without his magic and his soul, Pettigrew's corporeal body should also die within a month or less," answered James.

"Are you ready for tomorrow Padfoot?" asked Lily.

"Of course. I want to see Fudge twist in the wind."

"I should warn you that Arthur has already figured out who Snuffles is. I wouldn't be surprised if Hermione hasn't as well. I've told him that you have an appointment with the family solicitor first thing in the morning," added Remus.

"So what are you planning to do the rest of the afternoon, pup?" asked Sirius.

"I was thinking about taking everyone to Potter Manor and going flying."

"I think that is a great idea Harry," said Lily.

"Sirius, once we're gone you may want to have Dobby take you back to Potter Hall for a bit. I think we may be eating at Potter Manor tonight."

"Good plan, pup. When you get back, just call for Dobby and he'll pop me back over."

"Before you go, cub, I got a letter from the goblins this morning about the horcrux. They think they may have a way to remove the horcrux but they don't want to do it until you have several days to recover. So we should plan on doing this either for the Christmas or Easter holidays."

"OK, I'll just forget about that for a while then."

With that decided, Harry went back downstairs with his broom. When the twins saw him they got very excited.

"My dear Harry,"

"…. Are we doing what I think we're doing?"

"….. Do you have a hidden Quidditch pitch,"

"….. in your bag of tricks?"

Harry smiled, "I might."

The rest of the group quickly rejoined downstairs.

"Ron, do you have your broom?"

"Yeah, mate."

"OK, everyone who has a broom with them, go get them."

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I thought that with everything that's gone on today we might just take an afternoon to relax. If you don't want to fly there's the Library to spend time in," he said looking at Hermione and Percy. "I'm not really sure exactly what all is there. I've only been there a couple of times. I have all of you keyed into the wards."

When everyone had reassembled, Harry told them, "OK, we're going to Potter Manor. Everyone has been keyed into the wards so you shouldn't have a problem getting through. Just say 'Potter Manor' as your destination. I'll go first to make sure everyone gets through."

Harry found himself in the sitting room. Quickly after his arrival the fireplace spit out the twins, then Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Percy and the adults. They all looked around in awe.

"Let me give you a quick look around. I'm going to get us a light lunch ready. Cassie?"

Cassie popped in, "Master Harry be calling Cassie?"

"These are my friends the Weasleys and this is Hermione. We're going to spend the afternoon here. Do you think you could fix us a light lunch?"

"Of course Master Harry. Cassie be having it ready in the dining room quickly."

"We're going to look around for a bit."

Harry led the way into the library and explained the indexing system to them. He saw the look of awe in Hermione's eyes as he did. After a quick tour upstairs they made their way back down to the dining room. An assortment of sandwiches and salads were spread out for them. Once everyone had eaten their fill, an assortment of puddings appeared.

"Cassie?"

"Yes Master Harry?"

"We want to go fly on the pitch. Could we get somebody to show us the way? And is there a broom shed?"

"Cassie gets Tizzy to show Master Harry the pitch."

Tizzy popped in, "Master Harry wants to fly?"

"Hello Tizzy. Yes, we'd like to fly if it's no problem."

"It be no problem for Tizzy."

"Is there a broom shed or any Quidditch supplies?"

"Of course Master Harry. Tizzy be showing you."

The twins, Ron, Ginny and Arthur headed out to the pitch while Molly, Percy and Hermione made themselves at home in the library. Tizzy showed them where the broom shed was. Arthur found a broom and Harry found the Quidditch supplies. They mostly tossed the quaffle around but they did let the snitch loose for Harry to practice with. After a couple of hours of flying they were all quite tired and went back to the house.

They trooped into the Library which seemed to be the meeting area for the rest of the group. Harry asked Cassie for some lemonade for them all. He then went over to where the elder Weasleys were sitting, "What would you like to do for dinner tonight? It's no problem for us to eat here or we can go back to Diagon Alley for dinner. I know there are coupons for a couple of restaurants in the Alley."

"Whatever is easiest for you, dear. We don't want to be a bother," said Mrs. Weasley.

"It's no problem. The elves haven't had anyone to take care of in over thirteen years so I'm sure having us around makes them happy. Why don't we take a vote? It's your holiday as well as mine."

He looked at the others and said, "Gather round guys. Where do you want to go for dinner? We can stay here or go back to Diagon Alley. There are several places there we can eat."

Ron piped up, "Wherever you want to go as long as it's soon."

Hermione asked, "Would we be imposing on the elves here?"

Harry repeated what he'd told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about the elves not having anyone for so long.

It seemed like everyone kept staring at each other not wanting to make a decision. Finally Harry said he'd go see if the elves would mind. He decided to walk to the kitchen rather than summoning Cassie.

"Rizzo?"

"Master be calling Rizzo?"

"We were wondering if it would be much trouble if we had dinner here tonight. I know it's not much notice …"

"Master wants Rizzo to prepare dinner for Master and his friends!"

"If it's not a problem."

"Oh no, Master! Rizzo be happy to make dinner. Does Master have a favorite he would like Rizzo to make?"

"No. I'm sure whatever you fix will be fine with everyone. We'd probably like to eat about six if that's OK with you."

"Rizzo has dinner ready at six for Master and his friends."

Harry walked back into the library and told them the elves were more than happy to prepare dinner for them. Thinking that he hadn't spent much time with Ron, he asked Ron if he'd take a walk with him. Hermione saw them leaving together and followed. Harry led them both into the sitting room.

"Ron, I know I haven't spent much time with you these past couple of days but it's not that I didn't want to. So much has happened to me in two weeks. I know it seems like I have everything that I could want now so why do I need you. First of all, you're my best mate and always will be. Second, you have a family that loves you; I still don't have that. Having Remus around for guidance has been a new experience for me. I'm sorry I didn't get time to tell you about changing my elective from Divination. I thought Remus was going to choke when I told him I was taking it. Then I found out about Scabbers and got caught up in that."

"It's just going to take me a bit to get used to the new you."

"I'm still the same person I was. Remus said to tell you that since he's responsible for you losing your rat that he wants to replace it with whatever pet you decide you want. So if you want an owl or another rat I'm suppose to take you to get one tomorrow. And this will be your very own brand new pet. It won't be a hand down."

Ron's eyes brightened up, "Really?"

"Yeah. So, what do you think you want? Maybe with Crookshanks around you may not want another rat." Hermione gave him a glare.

"Can we look at Eyelops tomorrow? I'm not sure I ever want to go into the Magical Menagerie again."

"Sure. It may be the afternoon before I can go. I've got one last meeting with my solicitor first thing in the morning. Is there anything else you want to do Hermione?"

"Spend more time in your libraries?"

All three laughed. "Speaking of libraries, let's go see if there are any Quidditch books in there!" said Harry.

They walked back into the library. Harry noticed the twins were out of the room which didn't bode well for them. He thought he heard something in the cellar so headed down there. The twins were trying to find a way to get into the Potions Lab.

"AHA! Caught you!"

The twins turned around suddenly and their faces turned red.

"You really expect to put us in a new place and not explore?" asked George (or was it Fred?).

"Oh little brother of mine, it is a requirement to explore any new place thoroughly," said Fred (or George?)

"You could have just asked me. In this case I think it's better if we leave the room unexplored for now. I've just been in there once and I'm not sure what's all in there. I would hate to find some ingredients 'missing' and have them blow up in my face later," Harry grinned.

"You have issued the challenge. We will see who reaches their goal first!" said Fred.

Hermione had found Ron a quidditch book; an earlier version of _Quidditch Through the Ages_. They sat there looking through it until Cassie called them in for dinner.

Rizzo had outdone himself. It was truly better than anything they could have gotten in Diagon Alley. Once everyone had their fill, they prepared to leave. Harry went to the kitchen to thank Rizzo and Cassie. The group all floo'd back to the Leaky Cauldron and went their separate ways.

"Ron, want to go with me while I walk Snuffles?"

"Sure mate. What are you going to do with him while you're at Hogwarts?"

"I'm sure Hagrid will take care of him and you know Fang never has anyone to play with."

"You can always visit him when we have Care of Magical Creatures."

"You bet. Be right back."

Harry went upstairs and closed his door. He called for Dobby who brought Sirius with him.

"Did you have a good time, pup?"

"Yeah. We found the quidditch supplies. Even Mr. Weasley flew with us. Hermione, Percy and Mrs. Weasley stayed in. I told Ron about getting a new pet and he seems to like that idea. He always gets hand downs like I did, but at least his fit. Ready to go outside?"

"Sure." With that he transformed into Snuffles and they walked downstairs to meet up with Ron and Hermione.

Harry finally remembered what he'd been wanting to ask Ron, "So, did you get a new wand?"

Ron's eyes lit up, "Yeah. Fourteen inches long. Made of willow with one unicorn tail hair," said Ron who promptly took out the subject of discussion for both to ooh and aah over.

"Well, I think I'm going to turn in early. I think today was much more stressful than I was expecting. G'night!."

Harry walked back up the stairs to his room. Once the door was closed and properly secured Snuffles transformed back into Sirius and Harry brought out the portrait of his parents. Knowing he hadn't had much time to explain the days' events he spent some time doing just that. He left Sirius talking to them while he got ready for bed. Once complete, Sirius went back to Potter Hall and Harry went to sleep.


	26. Redemption

**A/N: It's time!**

 **26\. Redemption**

Harry woke up earlier than usual. He was ready to go by the time Sirius got there.

"Ready for this, pup?"

"You're the one who has to worry about everything. I'm just going along to provide an audience. Did you remember to leave your wand?"

"Of course. I'm not senile brat!" and Sirius mussed up Harry's hair for that comment.

When Sirius had resumed his canine form, the pair headed downstairs. Arthur was waiting for them.

"I thought I'd accompany you this morning."

"It's not necessary, Mr. Weasley. I know where I'm going and it's just a short walk."

"Well, with Sirius Black on the loose you might need someone with a wand just in case." Harry saw the man wink at him. Yes, Mr. Weasley knew what was going on.

The three went into the Alley and took the short walk to Dewey and Howe, Esquire. Mr. Howe was waiting for them. He was surprised to see Arthur but played along with it.

"Arthur, I haven't seen you in a while. How is Muriel?"

"Just as feisty as usual. I believe she's now complaining that the goblins are taking more than they should for their management fee. I tried to show her they weren't but she didn't want to hear it."

"Muriel will always find something to complain about," he said with a chuckle, "and Molly and the kids?"

"Everyone is doing well. We had a very good visit with Bill in Egypt. Charlie is still enjoying Romania and the dragon preserve. Percy is Head Boy this year and the twins are still up to devilment."

"Good. So are you just escorting Mr. Potter this morning?"

"I believe I have sorted out what is going on. I thought it would look better for Harry to have an adult escorting him in the Alley to keep up appearances."

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call to make on the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. My assistant will bring some breakfast for you while I'm gone. I don't think it should take too long."

"Harry, I hope you are not upset with me."

"Why should I be, Mr. Weasley? I'm sure it was pretty easy to figure out once it was made public that my dad and Sirius Black were both animagi and I suddenly had gotten a dog that had found me. I suspect Hermione has figured it out as well."

"She hasn't said anything to me, but knowing our Hermione I wouldn't put it past her."

At that time, Mr. Howe's assistant brought in a tray with a light breakfast for them.

Gerald Howe made his way through the security checkpoint and to the offices of Magical Law Enforcement. He entered Director Bones' office and asked to speak with her acknowledging that he did not have an appointment. The assistant went into the Director's office to check her availability. She walked out with her assistant.

"Gerald! I haven't seen you in quite a while. What brings you to my office so early on a Monday morning?"

"If you have a moment, Amelia, I wonder if we could speak in your office."

"Of course. Richard, please see that we are not interrupted."

They walked into her office and she put up the wards that she suspected Gerald would want.

"Shall we cut to the chase, Gerald? I know you are the Potter Family solicitor and you've been spending quite a bit of time with Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin."

"You are right on top of things as usual, Amelia. I have someone in my office that would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience."

"I believe that I am free for a bit, or at least I can make myself free if this is what I think it is."

"You may want to bring a couple of your Aurors just for appearances."

"Absolutely. He's still a wanted man. Let me see who is available and we'll be back shortly. Please make yourself comfortable."

Director Bones walked to the Auror office to see Rufus Scrimgeour

"Rufus, who is on duty right now?"

"Shacklebolt, Proudfoot, Redding, Savage, and Trainee Notting. May I ask why?"

"I have a special task for them. If I could borrow Shacklebolt and Proudfoot for a bit. I promise to bring them back the same way I take them."

Scrimgeour gave a weak laugh, "I'll send them to your office momentarily, Director."

Five minutes after she returned to her office both men joined her. She led them into her office, "I believe you both know Mr. Howe. He is requesting our assistance on a small matter this morning. We can use the floo in my office to go. Gerald, if you would lead the way."

The group soon found themselves in the outer office of Dewey and Howe. Gerald led them into his office where Harry Potter, Arthur Weasley and a big black shaggy dog were waiting. Once the door was closed Director Bones pointed to the dog and asked, "Am I to understand this is Sirius Black?" At that question, Snuffles transformed into his human form.

"Amelia, it's good to see you again, I think."

"Sirius. So that's how you escaped Azkaban? I'll have to remember to have them install anti-animagus wards there."

"I'm glad you didn't. If it weren't for my animagus form, I would have really gone crazy. Dementors don't affect lesser animals."

"Well, I must say, I was expecting to see you, Harry, but Arthur you are a surprise."

"I just sorted it out yesterday at the trial when Peter said that James and Sirius had both become animagi. Harry had suddenly acquired a dog at the time he left his aunt and uncle's house. It just seemed to be the final piece to the puzzle."

"Sirius, I believe you know Shacklebolt and Proudfoot?"

"Gentlemen it is good to see you again."

"Now, how would you like to do this? Quietly, or do you want to make a splash on the front pages of the _Daily Prophet_?"

"Quietly is just fine with me. Portkey to the interrogation section would be the easiest I believe. It should be very quick for you. A few drops of Veritaserum, a _priori incantatum_ on my wand, and that should be all. You give me my wand back and I walk out a free man."

"Who would you like to bring with you?"

"Just Gerald, and before you start, Harry, this may not be as pretty as we're laying it out. Fudge is not going to be happy that we've upset his nice, neat plans. Once I'm free I'll be right back here."

"But Sirius!"

"No, pup. You did enough with Peter. Now let me be the adult here and take care of this. Arthur if you would escort Harry back to the Leaky Cauldron. Amelia, whenever you are ready."

Once the group left for the Ministry, Arthur took Harry back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"But what if they don't make it easy for him and try to put him back in Azkaban?"

"I think the publicity of yesterday's trial and the fact that he has been wrongly imprisoned will work in his favor. As you know, the wizarding world is a bit behind the times in some ways. Sirius is from an Ancient and Most Noble House. That's like saying he's related to the Queen directly. It's not something Fudge wants to have continually hanging over him. Once Sirius is free, I am sure he will put some pressure on the Ministry for its haste in his case."

They walked into the Leaky Cauldron where the Weasley clan was downstairs eating breakfast. Harry had no appetite even though he had barely eaten anything at Mr. Howe's office. Mrs. Weasley started to say something to him but Arthur held her back. Once everyone was finished eating Mr. Weasley herded them back into the empty parlor they had been using.

"Harry, would you like to explain what has happened or would you like me?"

"No, thanks Mr. Weasley. I can do this. I've been a bit untruthful with you all, but I hope you'll understand. You see, Snuffles isn't really Snuffles. He's Sirius Black."

Percy made the first comment, "You allowed an escaped convict to live out in the open with us? You should have notified the Aurors as soon as you knew."

Mr. Weasley gave a stern look at Percy and just said, "Percy. Listen further."

"He is the one who saw Pettigrew in the photo of you in Egypt. He's the one who helped us plan his capture. I didn't know he was an animagus until Remus heard me ask Professor McGonagall if I could bring a dog to Hogwarts. He asked me what the dog looked like. When I brought him into my room he immediately knew that it was Sirius."

Hermione asked, "Where is he now, Harry."

"At the Ministry. He surrendered to Madam Bones and two of her Aurors just a bit ago. He wouldn't let me go with him. He does have a solicitor with him this time to make sure they don't try to hush everything up again. Oh, and Sirius is the one paying for your time here. He wanted to make sure I had someone looking out for me after Remus left for Hogwarts. I've told him about all you have done for me since I started Hogwarts. You don't know what it's like to finally have someone who actually cares what you look like and what your grades are. He's the one who made sure I had proper robes as well as muggle clothing. He told me about the Heir ring and the Potter vaults. I just don't want anything to happen to him now. Look, I don't want to spoil your time here. It is suppose to be a bit of a vacation for you too."

"Oh Harry, you're always thinking about everyone else. Whatever we can do for you we're happy to do it," said Mrs. Weasley.

Ron spoke up, "Hey mate, maybe if we head out into the Alley and go to Eeylops it will take your mind off of things for a bit. I'm sure once it's known in the Ministry that Sirius Black is there it will be all over the Alley in no time."

"Yeah, OK. Let me go up and send Remus a note and let my parents know what's happening and then we'll head out. I guess sitting around here worrying won't do any good."

Ron and Hermione walked up with him, "So is this why you didn't want to let us in your room sometimes? Sirius was in his human form?" asked Hermione.

"That plus once I'd gone to bed for the evening Dobby was taking him back to Potter Hall. Sometimes we were talking with my parents about the plans and how they were working out. I'm sorry I had to keep this from you."

"Harry, of course we understand!" said Hermione.

They got to Harry's room and closed the door. He quickly resized his parents' portrait and told them what had happened that morning.

"Harry, Amelia Bones is one of the most level headed people I know. She won't let Fudge run roughshod over her like Barty Crouch did. She will keep control over the situation. It may be just as simple as what Sirius said. Question him under Veritaserum and check his wand. When they see his wand did not cast the blasting curse it's almost all over," said James.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Lily.

"I'm going to write a quick letter to Remus to tell him it's all going as planned then we're going into Diagon Alley to get Ron a pet. Sirius said to get one for him in return for giving up his rat," answered Harry.

"I think that's an excellent idea. News travels fast in the wizarding world. I bet if you happen to hang around the _Daily Prophet_ offices you'll learn quite a lot," said James.

Harry scribbled out a quick note and gave it to Hedwig to deliver to Remus then the trio headed into the Alley. They found the offices of the _Daily Prophet_ but so far, nothing had come through so they headed on to Eeylops. Ron's eyes opened wide at the vast selection of owls available.

"Remus and I were in here the other day to get some owl treats and one just flew down onto his shoulder and start grooming him. Maybe the same thing will happen to you."

"I don't think I'm that lucky. I've already had a cat try to attack me," giving Hermione an evil look.

"Crookshanks was going for the rat, not you," she said primly.

They headed to the far end of the line of owls when suddenly a small ball of feathers started flying dizzily around them. Ron tried to bat it away, but it was insistent. Harry, with his seeker's reflexes, reached out and snatched the tiny Scops owl from the air.

"I think you've made a friend, Ron," grinned Harry.

"That bird is barmy!"

"Well, let's see what happens when I let him go."

Harry released the bird and again it started flying dizzying circles around the trio. The shop owner came over, "I think that owl likes you, son."

"That thing is mental it is!"

"Well, I've never seen him go after a person before. Usually he's buzzing all around the shop but he's never been near someone before."

"Maybe it's attracted to you, Harry."

"That's easy to check out. I'll just walk over here and see what happens."

He walked in one direction and Hermione another. The bird just kept flying circles around Ron and dive bombing him.

"Sorry mate, but I think that owl's adopted you."

They regrouped at the counter where Ron picked out a cage and bought some owl treats. He reached up and, after three tries, grabbed the owl and stuffed it into the cage. After completing the transaction they departed the store, intent on stopping by the _Daily Prophet_ office again. As they got back onto the main road they looked up and saw Neville and his grandmother.

"Hi Neville, Madam Longbottom."

"Mr. Potter."

"Hi Harry! Hello Hermione; Ron."

"Gran, these are my friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Mr. Potter, you held yourself very well yesterday. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you Ma'am. I just said what was in my heart."

"It is said that what is in your heart can never be disputed. I look forward to spending more time with you next summer."

"Yes, Ma'am. I've learned there's a lot about the wizarding world that I don't know. I appreciate any help you can give me."

At that time, a commotion was heard from the far end near the _Daily Prophet_ office."

"He's been found!"

"Who?"

"Sirius Black!"

"He turned himself in to the Ministry."

"I guess nobody will get the 10,000 galleon reward now."

"Are they going to send him back to Azkaban?"

"Who knows. Fudge is already under a cloud for sending him there in the first place. Don't think he'll make that same mistake twice."

"Don't count on it. Fudge isn't known for his smarts."

"Well Mr. Potter, it appears your fortunes are changing again. Good luck to you. Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley it is a pleasure to meet you." With that the Longbottoms returned to their shopping.

"OK folks. I think I need to get out of Diagon Alley. As soon as someone spots me I'm going to be surrounded. I should have brought my invisibility cloak. Help me get through the crowd."

The three friends managed to make it to the Leaky Cauldron unnoticed. They went back up to their rooms so that Ron could put his owl up. The three went into Ron and Percy's room. Percy was there reading something he'd picked up. When Ron went to place his owl next to Percy's owl, Hermes, Hermes squawked and acted like it was beneath his dignity to be associated with a common owl like Ron had. Ron shrugged and moved it over to the other side of the room and went to get some water for it. Ginny was in her room so the three went in there to see what she was doing. She was still more quiet than she had been as a result of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Hi guys, what's going on? Did you get your owl, Ron?"

"Yeah, I just put the nutter in my room. Hermes doesn't like him so I guess that's a good sign."

"So what are you three doing back here? I thought you'd be out in the alley picking up juicy gossip."

Harry answered, "The news just broke about Sirius being at the Ministry. I figured if I stayed out there much longer someone would recognize me and I'd have to beat off a crowd. What about you?"

"Just didn't feel like it. So what are you going to do now?"

Ron asked, "Exploding snap anyone?"

They all agreed so Ron found his deck of cards and they settled down for a game or four. About an hour later the elder Weasleys stuck their heads in the door.

"Ah, there you are. We were looking for you in Diagon Alley in case you needed rescuing," said Mr. Weasley.

"We were there but left before it got too crazy," answered Harry.

"Probably a good decision. Any idea where you would like to go for lunch?"

Ron quickly said, "Fortescue's." The rest just shrugged.

"Have you seen your brothers?"

"No. Probably trying to sneak into Knockturn Alley," replied Ginny with a smirk.

"I'll go and see if I can find them. If you would all stay here until I do. I'll see how things are out there now and if we can go there without creating a spectacle," said Mr. Weasley.

"You mean me creating a spectacle," whispered Harry under his breath. Hermione heard him and gave him a sad smile.

The kids played another game of exploding snap before Mr. Weasley and the twins made it back.

"Well, I'm afraid it's gotten even more crazy out there. There are rumors that Sirius challenged the Minister to a duel. Another is that he went into the Ministry and started hexing everyone and the Fountain of Magical Brethren was destroyed. The only credible piece of information I gleaned is that the Minister has called another press conference for three," provided Mr. Weasley.

As they were sitting there, an owl tapped on the window. Ginny went and let it in where it flew right over to Harry. Harry retrieved the piece of parchment and the owl flew off before he could find an owl treat for him. He quickly unrolled the scroll and read it.

"It's from Mr. Howe, the solicitor. He confirms the press conference at three and that Sirius does want me there. He asks if you could take me, Mr. Weasley."

"I'll be happy to, Harry."

"Do you want us to go, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"It's up to you. You've already been in one circus this week."

"Well, why don't we discuss this downstairs at lunch?"

The group filed down the stairs and into the private parlor again. Evidently Tom had just reserved it for them for the duration of their stay. Mr. Weasley had Tom bring their lunch in there. Once he had departed, the discussion began.

"So, are you going to have to get all dressed up again, Harry?" asked Ron.

"I don't think so this time. I have to show this was a last minute thing, I guess. The trial was known beforehand. I'll just pick one of my day robes with the Potter crest."

"I think your maroon robes would look best for this, Harry," added Hermione.

The twins went into their now expected fawning act about dressing Harry up. Everyone was laughing (well, everyone except Percy) by the time they were done.

"Why don't the lot of you stay here. I'm pretty sure we'll be coming back here when it's over. We can have our own party then," said Harry.

The teens played a few more games of exploding snap before Harry went to change clothes. He came out shortly after and went downstairs to meet Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley fussed over his looks and tried desperately to get his hair to settle down.

Harry laughed, "Even the mirror in the bathroom told me it was a hopeless cause."

After stumbling out of the floo at the Ministry and checking in through security they found Mr. Howe waiting for them.

"Good to see you again, Harry. We're meeting in the Minister's office. Everything went as we had thought. They finally found his wand in the evidence vault. The last spell cast was a _petrificus totalus_ that he shot at Peter trying to stop him. Then he was questioned under Veritaserum with Fudge present."

"But what about his escaping from Azkaban?"

"Well, considering he should have never been sent there, the Ministry can't very well punish him for trying to right their wrong, can they? They are charging him for being an unregistered animagus but that's only a fine and he has to register. We've already taken care of that. The only other thing they want to happen is that he have a complete examination at St. Mungo's for any residual effects of the Dementors."

By that time, they had arrived at the Minister's office. Once Sirius saw him, he came over and swooped Harry into a hug. Harry flinched a bit but realized this was going to be something he would have to be getting used to and relaxed into it.

"It's over, pup. Once Fudge has his literal dog and pony show I am free to go. I promised them I would visit St. Mungo's once I see you onto the Hogwarts Express on Wednesday. When that is over, I will come back to the Ministry and file the paperwork to become your legal guardian."

"So that means you can sign my Hogsmeade form?" Harry said with a smirk.

Everyone around them laughed, "Cheeky brat. Yes, that means I can sign your Hogsmeade form."

Fudge came out of his office and looked at the scene around him then said, "If everyone is here now, shall we go to the Atrium?"

Harry found Director Bones on his other side, "Harry, would you and Sirius have a moment before you leave? I believe we've had a new development in your situation."

"Yes Ma'am. I think I have an idea what it may be."

There was another crowd even larger than yesterday with Rita Skeeter prominent in the front. Fudge went up to the microphone, "Thank you all for coming. I have a brief statement to read. Please hold your questions until the end."

 _Ladies and Gentlemen,_

 _Early this morning, on the advice of his solicitor, Sirius Black turned himself in to the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. Director Bones and her staff questioned Mr. Black under Veritaserum about his involvement in the deaths of James and Lily Potter as well as the deaths of thirteen muggles. Mr. Black denied being the Potter's secret keeper, denied any involvement with You-Know-Who, and described the scene where thirteen muggles died as Peter Pettigrew did at his trial yesterday. Upon retrieving his wand from the evidence vault, a priori incantatum was performed. The last spell the wand had performed was a petrificus totalus that he used while attempting to stop Pettigrew from escaping. With this information, it was determined that Mr. Black was not responsible for the deaths of the Potters nor the deaths of the thirteen muggles he had been accused of killing. As he was improperly incarcerated, the charge of escape from Azkaban was withdrawn. Mr. Black did confess to being an unregistered animagus and was fined accordingly. Mr. Black is now a free man. Mr. Black, if you would join me, we will now take questions._

Sirius walked onto the platform next to Fudge. Naturally, the first hand up belonged to Rita Skeeter.

"Mr. Black, what do you plan to do now that you are a free man?"

"I will be submitting to a thorough examination at St. Mungo's to determine any lingering effects from my time in Azkaban. After that, I plan to become the godfather to my godson, Harry Potter, as his parents had wished."

Another person asked, "Where will you be living?"

"For the time being I will be living in the flat I had been living in prior to my illegal incarceration until I can determine what other options I may have."

Rita asked another question, "What do you plan to do to those who wrongfully incarcerated you?"

"My solicitor and I have not had time to discuss what avenues we have to redress this action."

Yet another asked, "Minister Fudge, what will happen to the 10,000 galleon reward placed on Mr. Black?"

"That has yet to be determined."

"Minister, will the Wizengamot be reimbursing Mr. Black for his time in Azkaban?"

"Again, this has yet to be determined."

"Mr. Black, will you be assuming the lordship of the House of Black?"

"I don't know. That is part of the other options that I will be working on."

"Mr. Black, what does Mr. Potter have to say about you becoming his guardian?"

"I don't know. We will both need time to get to know each other better, but I hope that he will be receptive to this."

Rita had edged around the platform and noticed Harry back there with Gerald Howe.

"Mr. Potter, can we have a statement from you?"

Sirius motioned to him to join him on the platform.

Sirius said, "This is the only time he will be speaking to you. I will not have him fed to the vultures as you have done to me."

Harry stammered a bit, "Well, I look forward to getting to know Mr. Black. I leave for Hogwarts Wednesday so there isn't much time now. It would be nice to have someone in the magical world who can teach me the things I need to know. I am just happy that justice has been done and we can all get back to our normal lives again."

The Minister stepped up, "Thank you all for coming."

Sirius, Harry and Gerald were all shepherded out of the atrium and back to Director Bones' office. She had tea brought in for them all.

"I had two interesting owls this afternoon. Can you guess who it was from, Harry?"

"Ms. Milton?"

"Exactly. She was contacted by a Dr. Granger this morning about a potential child abuse case. Imagine my surprise when she told me it was you."

"That's Hermione's parents. I had a meeting with the Weasleys and the Grangers Friday about all that had been going on. Everyone was asking why I was at the Leaky Cauldron and why I had left my aunt and uncle's house, why I suddenly had clothes that fit and all that sort of thing. After I was done, the Grangers offered to file a complaint with Child Services to help things along."

Amelia chuckled, "Are you sure you aren't in Slytherin, Harry?"

"No Ma'am" laughed Harry.

"Well, actually this does help things on the muggle side. She can begin an official investigation of the Dursleys without having to disclose hearing about it from a magical source. She's already getting the process going. The other interesting owl I got was from Gringotts. It had the report on their evaluation of the wards on Privet Drive. I showed it to Gerald earlier but he said he would be getting a copy as well. Would you like to read it first or would you like for me to hit the highlights?"

"Give us a few minutes to read it if you don't mind, Amelia," replied Sirius.

She handed the report to Sirius and Harry read over his shoulder. The first part was the evaluation of the wards. It showed there was one to repel anyone with the Dark Mark, one to repel anyone entering who had ill intent to anyone residing in the house, anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards, and one to redirect owls not from Hogwarts or his own owl from delivering mail. The last had been updated to add owls from the Weasleys after Harry's first year. They were also able to gain entry into the house and scan the three Dursleys. All had a compulsion and aversion charms to hate anything associated with a Potter. The adult male had an anger charm placed on him which would mean he would overreact to any situation that evoked that emotion. There was no evidence of blood wards or any other ancient magics.

By the time Harry had read the entire report the room was starting to shake.

"Harry! Harry! Look at me!" Sirius almost shouted. "It does nobody any good if you let your magic get away from you. Take a few deep breaths."

Once Harry had calmed down, he said, "So Dumbledore's been lying to me the whole time? There never was any reason to put me with the Dursleys except to make me his puppet. Are there any other magical schools beside Hogwarts?"

"There are, but for now, it's best to stay here and fight. I will not let him get away with this I promise. Amelia, I'll be filing for guardianship by the end of the week. Once Harry is back at Hogwarts and I've been checked at St. Mungo's, Gerald and I will be developing a list of charges to file against various people. Trust me that Albus will be at the top of the list."

"Harry," said Director Bones, "I will do everything in my power to make sure you are taken care of properly from here on out."

"Thank you Ma'am. I do appreciate what you've already done."

Gerald interjected, "Do you have anything else for us? I think we need to get these two back to the Leaky Cauldron first. You might want to go to Potter Hall or Potter Manor for the rest of your time, Harry."

"I don't want to run away from my friends."

"You won't, pup. We can move them all to Potter Manor if you want. Just know if you stay at the Leaky Cauldron you will be more of a public spectacle than you are already."

"I can do that. It's you I'm worried about."

"Don't be, pup. I have my wand back," Sirius pulled it out and twirled it around, "and I still remember my Auror training even if I am a bit rusty."

"Why don't we ask them? I always hate it when people make decisions for me without asking my opinion first."

Amelia offered her private floo for them to use. Gerald went first to make sure it was clear for them. Harry came next, sprawling on the floor as he usually did, then came Sirius. They walked directly over to the private parlor they had been using to find Arthur, Molly, Ron and Hermione in there.

"Harry!" said Hermione as she threw her arms around him. The Weasleys all gathered around as well.

"Well, aren't you going to make proper introductions, pup?"

"Oh right. Everyone, this is Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Hermione Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley and my best mate Ron."

Sirius shook hands all around. Arthur and Molly told him to call them by their first names immediately.

"Thank you for all you have done for Harry. I'm glad he has had you keeping an eye on him."

"He's such a good boy," said Molly.

Gerald said, "If you don't need me any more I'll just go back to the office and see what fires I need to put out."

Sirius reached out his hand to shake Gerald's. "Thank you for everything. I'll get with you in a few days to go over the things we talked about."

Ron was interested in Sirius' dog form, "So how long have you been an animagus?"

"We finally managed to do it in our fifth year. We tried for a while. We didn't know at the time that we had to wait for our magical core to mature before we tried it. I've already told Harry that he'd better not even think about it until after his OWLS. Then, if he wants, I'll help him. I will make the same offer to you as well if your parents give their permission."

"Wicked!"

The rest of the Weasley clan filtered in. After formal introductions were made, the talk took on multiple threads. Sirius was talking with the twins about their desire to open a joke shop. He told them to keep him updated on what they were creating. And no, he would not tell their mother.

"What kind of Marauder would I be if I did that?" he said, hurt.

The twins looked at each other, then back and Sirius, then back at each other. As one, they stood up, raised their wands and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"

Sirius was astounded. How had they learned about that?

"How do you know that?"

"Well, there might have been a trip to Filch's office…

…. That might have led to a look through a drawer of confiscated stuff…

…..Where we might have found a map…

….Which is the key to our success."

"You have the map? I wondered what happened to it. The rat was the last one to have it and he said he'd lost it. Well, I'm glad it is in such good hands. You might show it to Harry one day."

"You mean we can keep it?"

"Of course, as long as you ensure you use it to keep pranking."

The twins looked like Christmas and their birthday had come at one time.

Once everyone had assembled Sirius stood up, "I know the past few days have been a bit confusing for you all. You don't know how much it means to me that you have taken Harry into your family. The next two days will probably be a bit more confusing for him and, by extension, you, once it's common knowledge that I am free and Harry is my godson. I've told Harry I'll support him in whatever he wants to do before he goes back to Hogwarts. If you want to stay here, fine. If you would prefer to have a last day away from the crowds we can take you to Potter Manor. I am indebted to you for your kindness."

After a lot of murmuring and talk among themselves, everyone pretty much decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius wanted to take Harry with him to Potter Hall for the night. They needed a little more time together. Ron and Hermione went with him while he put some clothes in his knapsack to take with him. There were a lot of curious people mingling around and they could hear comments from various people that they heard Sirius Black was staying there and that Sirius Black was buying the Leaky Cauldron and many other absurd comments. While they were gone, Arthur spoke to Tom about having dinner served to them. When the three came down, Tom was just bringing in the meal. After a relaxed dinner, Harry and Sirius floo'd to Potter Hall for the night.


	27. A Little Family Time

**A/N: With the chief prankster now free, let's have a little fun!**

 **This chapter has been replaced due to a minor error. Thanks to USA83 for catching it for me!**

 **28\. A Little Family Time**

Once they were back at Potter Hall, both wizards let out a sigh of relief. Battling the Ministry, Fudge, reporters and others had left them both exhausted. They crashed in the sitting room, both sitting wordlessly for a while. Finally, Sirius had regained a bit of strength.

"You know this is only the beginning, pup?"

"Yeah, but it's not like anything normal happens to me; it all has to play out on the front pages of the _Daily Prophet_."

"True. I vote we take a night off, how about you?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Why don't you pull out your parents' portrait and we'll tell you some stories of our time at Hogwarts?"

Harry pulled out their portrait, resized it and let Sirius put it on the mantel where they could see them better. After updating them on Sirius' exoneration, he turned the conversation to Hogwarts.

"Prongs, I told him we'd just talk about our time at Hogwarts tonight. We're both beat and I think he'd like to hear some of the things we did."

"Don't you be imitating them Harry James Potter!" said Lily.

Harry laughed, "Yes mum."

"Prongs, why don't you tell him about Project Feline?"

James laughed, "It was fourth year. Minerva wasn't happy with us for a prank we'd pulled so she restricted us from going to Hogsmeade one weekend. To get back at her, we owl ordered a large bag of catnip. Later we snuck out of the dorm under the invisibility cloak. We put some in her classroom, at the head table, in the staff room, her office and quite a few other places. Every time she got near it, she couldn't resist the urge to turn into her cat form and roll around in it. She'd start meowing loudly and rubbing up against anyone near it. We'd actually put it under Dumbledore's chair so when she turned into a cat in the Great Hall she jumped into Dumbledore's lap and started rubbing her cheek against him. The whole Hall was laughing."

"Yeah, I heard she about attacked old Slughorn in the Staff Room," added Sirius.

Harry was laughing so hard he had to hold his sides, "Oh, that is rich! Should I give her a catnip toy for Christmas?"

"Only if you want to spend the next month in detention, which is what happened to us afterwards. The first thing we had to do was remove it from all the places we'd put it then Filch had us cleaning the Entrance Hall every night with a toothbrush," said James.

"She should have banned you from Hogsmeade for the rest of the year!" added Lily.

"Lily, it was harmless!" said James.

"Padfoot, tell him about the time you tried to sneak into the girls dorm," said James.

"I don't think I should tell that story, Prongs. He's a bit too young for that."

"Why is it that girls can come in the boys' dorm but boys can't go into the girls' dorm?"

"We think the Founders had a strange sense of propriety when they built that feature into the castle. Sort of like the fox in the henhouse. I'm not sure how they have it set up in Slytherin and Hufflepuff since they aren't in towers," James answered.

"So what's to stop someone from flying their brooms up there and going in through a window?" wondered Harry.

"There's an invisible barrier over the windows that keeps everything out. Owls can get in and out but nothing else. Ever noticed when you have your window open when it's raining how everything stays dry? Even someone who is a bird animagus wouldn't be able to get in," answered Sirius.

"Padfoot, remember the time Moony snuck into the kitchens and got that huge roast bone he gave you for Christmas?"

"I tried to beat him over his mangy head with that!"

"You can get into the kitchens?"

"Oh pup you have so much to learn from us. You know where the Hufflepuff dorm is?"

"Yeah."

"Have you noticed the large portrait of a bunch of fruit?"

"I think so."

"Just tickle the pear and the door to the kitchens opens. The elves are more than happy to help."

"That must be where the twins get the food they have in the dorm after Quidditch wins."

. "I'm sure. You need to talk to them. They have quite a few tricks up their sleeve. Prongs, I meant to tell you I know where the map is."

"What map?" asked Harry.

"You need to ask the twins to show it to you. It's a map of Hogwarts and everyone in it at any given time. In fact, I need to let Moony know they have it."

"Are they worthy of it, Padfoot?"

"From what I hear we would be proud to call them Marauders. Their life's ambition is to open a joke shop. I told them to keep me posted. I'm always looking for promising business opportunities and heaven knows the world can use more laughs."

Lily noticed that Harry's eyes were starting to droop, "Harry, don't you think it's about time you go to bed, dear?"

Sirius responded, "Let him live a bit Lils!"

"Sirius, he's asleep on his feet! Fine godfather you are to not even notice that!"

Harry bade his parents good night and headed up the stairs to pick a bedroom. There was one decorated in Gryffindor colors so he took that one. After taking a shower, he fell into bed and was quickly asleep.

Sirius spent a little more time with his friends.

"Padfoot, is he going to be alright?" asked James.

"I think so. You know as well as I do this whole godfather thing is new to me too. I think if he can get some stability in his life he'll be further on the road to recovery. Having Remus at Hogwarts this year will be good for him. He'll have someone he can confide in as well as someone looking out for his welfare. Once I get him on the train Wednesday I'll be checking into St. Mungo's for a full checkup. After that I intend to go after everyone who has hurt him, especially Dumbledore and the Dursleys."

"Sirius, let the muggle authorities handle the Dursleys. They really do have a good bit of power. I think if anything will make a difference to them is to have them branded as criminals and be the shame of their neighborhood."

"I guess you know that better than I do, Lily."

"So what are you going to do tomorrow, Padfoot?"

I'm going to see what Harry wants to do. If he wants to spend time with his friends in Diagon Alley I'll go with him. I know I can't hide from the public for long and I don't want them thinking that I'm a madman for having spent all of that time in Azkaban. I really do need to go to Gringotts and find out just what I do have. Harry has asked to set up a fund for the Weasleys and Hermione so I want to take care of that and let Arthur and Molly know about it. They're probably going to balk, but I'll make them understand that it's not charity but a thank you for their friendship with Harry. Oh, and I need an owl to keep in touch with Harry and Moony. He definitely has your heart, Lily."

"Sounds like you have a full day tomorrow Padfoot. Maybe you should call it a night too," said Lily.

Sirius slept the sleep of the innocent for the first time in twelve years. His usual nightmare didn't show itself for the first time in a long time.

Sirius was already sitting at the table when Harry came down the next morning. He'd asked Dobby to get him a copy of the day's _Daily Prophet_ ; he'd arrange for delivery when he was in Diagon Alley.

"What would you like to do today, pup?"

"I don't really have anything I need to do. How about you?"

"Well, I thought I'd go to Gringotts and find out just what I do own. My family disowned me when I moved in with your grandparents so I don't know what kind of finances I have. Assuming I'm not poor, I need to get an owl for starters. I need to be able to communicate with you and Remus."

"I have money. I'll help with whatever you need."

"I know you would, pup, but that money is for you and your education. I'm not destitute by any sense. I protected my assets as you are aware of my fund from your grandfather. I also suspect when the Ministry gets done stumbling over itself in paying me for illegally imprisoning me we'll have a nice nest egg."

"OK. I can see what Ron and Hermione are doing. I probably need to make sure I have my trunk packed up for tomorrow."

"Have Dobby pick up your old trunk and bring it back here in case you need it again. Do you feel comfortable with being able to manage your power?"

"I think so. I can always go to Remus' office and have him help me."

"If I know Moony, he's already talked to Minerva about it and she's talked to Filius. Those are the only two classes other than his that you would need your wand for. Under no circumstances are you to be alone with Dumbledore. If he asks to see you, make sure you have either Remus or Minerva or both with you. With Moony as the Potter Steward he has some legal standing in regards to your care and Minerva does as your Head of House. Remus will be scanning you periodically for any charms Dumbledore may try to place on you. Since you know how different your magic feels now with the binding removed, if you feel the least bit different you need to tell Moony. We'll have you checked immediately. Right now we don't know if we can trust Madam Pomfrey."

"OK. I'm not sure I even want to see Professor Dumbledore after everything we've discovered."

"I know, but you can't let on you know about all of that. Gilderoy Lockhart isn't the only one skilled in memory charms. Now, why don't you grab your bag and your parents and we floo over to the Leaky Cauldron?"

It didn't take Harry long to get his belongings together and shrink the portrait of his parents. Harry entered the floo first followed by Sirius.

"Pup I need to give you lessons in how to floo. How did you do on the portkey to the Ministry?"

"I thought I was going to lose my lunch. I ended up flat on my bum too."

"Well, if you don't like either of those two methods you're probably not going to like apparition either. The first time I went with my father I thought my whole stomach was coming out of me."

They walked into the private parlor they'd been using and Hermione came over immediately.

"How are you doing, Harry?"

"Real well. I had a good night last night. Has Ron come down yet?"

"It's the last morning before going back to Hogwarts. Do you really expect him to be out of bed early?"

Harry laughed, "You're right. I should have known."

Sirius asked, "And how are you this morning, Hermione?"

"Very well, Mr. Black."

"Mr. Black was my father. Please call me either Sirius or Padfoot. Now, I have some business in Diagon Alley. I can guarantee you it will be a circus when I go out there. If you'd like to be part of it feel free to join me. If not, I'll leave Harry here."

"I have enough circuses of my own, thank you. I'll just stay here until Ron gets up and we decide what we're going to do."

Sirius walked out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the courtyard that lead into Diagon Alley. He straightened his shoulders and adjusted his posture to that of a proud pureblood wizard then tapped the bricks opening the portal into the Alley. He strode out into the Alley with a purpose. He'd only taken about ten steps when the buzz started around him. Some people were afraid of him based on his time in Azkaban regardless of whether it was justified or not; the others were just curious. The one thing he wasn't was ignored. Entering Gringotts he walked up to the first open teller and requested to speak with the Black Family account manager. While he was waiting to be escorted to the goblin's office he noticed the talk around him had quieted down while most of them stopped to stare at him. Ignoring the looks, he followed the goblin who had been sent to escort him into the back offices of the bank. The escort opened the door for him.

Sirius strode in and looked at the goblin sitting at the desk with surprise, "Silvergrip! It's good to see you again!"

"Lord Black. You as well. Congratulations on making the Ministry look like the fools they are."

"So you're still the Black account manager?"

"At your service. How may I help you today?"

"Well, you called me Lord Black. That tells me something. So old Arcturus didn't toss me from the family after all?"

"No. He made a big show of it to please Walburga, but he never told her he had not changed his will. With the loss of Regulus as well as your father, Orion, he decided that he was not going to disown the only grandson he had left."

"I'm sure if Walburga knew, she'd disown him if she could."

"As you are the only one named in Arcturus' will, other than Walburga, there is no need to hold a formal reading unless you desire it. Now, I assume you are here to determine your current holdings."

"I agree. I don't see a need to have the will read for my own enjoyment. If you could provide me a copy, that is sufficient. Yes, I do need to know just what I have at my disposal and what I need to do to set up a few subaccounts."

"I have a complete listing of your properties as well as the gold in your Black vaults. I also have an accounting of the money in your maintenance account. I noticed there had been some recent activity with it."

"Yes, I had Remus use money out of it to bring the Weasleys to Diagon Alley for obvious reasons I'm sure you can understand."

"As for property, you own the house at 12 Grimmauld Place as you suspected. Your parents had disposed of any additional properties prior to their deaths. Your business interests remain the same. You own 25 percent of the _Daily Prophet_ which I'm sure you will find a burden to carry."

"The _Prophet_ won't know what hit them when Harry and I team up on them."

"I look forward to the results."

"There are two businesses in Knockturn Alley that you own part interest in. One is Dark Moon Bookstore and the other is Harris Antiquities."

"I'll be looking to sell those interests soon."

"You also have interests in Flourish and Blotts, Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, Eeylops Owl Emporium and the Leaky Cauldron to name your primary businesses. You have interests in quite a few other businesses in Diagon Alley as well as Hogsmeade. Your current balance in gold is just over five million galleons. Of course this does not include any jewelry, gems or artifacts in your vault. I will have a full accounting sent to you within the day."

"Thank you. I am currently living at Potter Hall until I can determine the status of Grimmauld Place. I suspect there will be several dark artifacts in that house that I will need goblin assistance to dispose of."

"As you wish. Now, you mentioned several accounts you wish to establish. How may I help you there?"

"I would like to set up a trust account for the remaining Weasley children which would pay their Hogwarts tuition, a stipend for books and equipment to include robes, and a small spending allowance. It is my understanding that they have five children currently in school. The oldest is a seventh year, the next two are fifth year, one in third year with Harry and their only girl is in second year. Their spending money should be twenty galleons per year unless I authorize anything additional. I would also like to reimburse the Weasley vault for what they have already spent this year. The other account I would like to establish is for Hermione Granger. She is a muggleborn so her parents do not have an account with you. She is also a third year with Harry. If you can determine a way to reimburse her parents, then please do. If I could have those vault keys before I leave this morning along with six bags of 20 galleons each, I will provide them to all parties. I need to spend some time in the Black vault before I leave. The main thing I need to get is the Head of House ring as well as some galleons for my immediate use. Will there be any problem?"

"None at all. I will calculate the amounts necessary and will have them transferred from your vault immediately. Do you want this to be just a trust vault or an interest bearing vault?"

"Interest bearing of course. I would like you to manage them with the other Black accounts. However you feel will make us the most profit is fine with me."

"Of course, Lord Black. It is always an pleasure doing business with the House of Black."

"I will leave you to your work then. May your gold flow and your profits be great."

"And yours also Lord Black. I will have Newblade escort you to your vault."

Newblade entered and escorted Sirius to the carts for the trip down to his vault. The Black vault was one of the oldest and largest at this branch of Gringotts. At the door of the vault Newblade had him press his palm against the door to key it to Sirius' signature. As he entered the vault he noticed a pedestal just at the front. Sitting on it were two rings - the Head and the Heir rings. He placed the Head of House ring on his finger. It immediately sized itself to fit and he was surrounded by a glow of gold light indicating the ring had accepted him as the rightful Head of House Black. He took a quick look around for anything he might need immediately. He knew he would need to spend a lot more time here categorizing the items in the vault but that could wait for another day. Getting an empty money sack from Newblade he filled it with galleons and got back in the cart for the ride to the surface. The entire trip had taken about a half hour. They went back to Silvergrip's office to pick up the keys and the additional sacks of money.

Having completed his task at Gringotts he went by Flourish and Blotts. Seeing a head of bushy brown hair he looked for an accompanying red head and one with messy black hair. He snuck up on Harry and said, "Boo!"

"Sirius!" Harry went to hit him with his hand.

"Hi pup! Hermione couldn't resist one more stop at the bookstore I take it."

"Well, it's not like she won't have access to a huge library or anything for the next ten months."

"I just finished my business with the goblins. Would you three like to help me go pick out my owl?"

Ron answered, "I hope you don't get picked by a lunatic like I did. I swear that owl is mental!"

"It is said that owls are attracted to wizards and witches of like mind, so I guess you're saying you're mental, Ron?" asked Sirius.

Ron was flustered at that comment. Hermione left the book she was looking at and the four walked across the street to the Owl Emporium. The owner quickly realized Lord Black was in his establishment and came out to greet him.

"Lord Black, it is good to see you. May I assist you in selecting an owl today?"

"Good to see you as well, Millard. I take it business is doing well?"

"There always seems to be a need for good owls. Do you have a preference as to the type of owl you want?"

"I thought I'd see if one accepted me first before selecting one."

"Always the best option. That young man over there just purchased an owl yesterday."

"Yes, he's a friend of my godson, Harry, who was with him," nodding towards Harry, "I'll just take a look around if you don't mind."

"Of course. Please let me know if you need anything."

Sirius walked back over to Harry, "So, pup, what looks good to you?"

"I don't know much about owls. Hagrid bought Hedwig for me. I was with Remus and Ron and the owls just seem to pick them."

"Well, let's just walk along and see if one likes me."

They looked at the multitude of owls of various types. Harry pointed to an eagle owl, "Malfoy has one of those and always makes a big deal of it when it delivers packages to him."

"We definitely don't want anything a Malfoy has."

"Remus has a boreal owl which seemed nice what little I was able to tell. Ron's right about his; it is mental. If we ever need a practice snitch we can probably use his owl in a pinch."

Ron interrupted, "You cannot use Pig as a snitch!"

"You named your owl Pig?" asked Harry.

"Well, Ginny actually named it Pigwidgeon, but it's easier just to call him Pig."

Apparently one owl found Sirius interesting. It flew down and landed on his shoulder. "What kind of owl is that Sirius?"

"It's a hawk owl. Let's see what it thinks about me." Sirius lifted the bird from his shoulder onto his arm, "Hello. Are you interested in becoming my owl?" The bird bobbed her head. "Do you have a problem with dogs?" This time the bird shook her head 'no'. "Well then, would you like to come home with me?" Again the bird bobbed her head.

He took the owl up to the counter. Millard admired his purchase, "That's a handsome bird there. Looks like she's taken a liking to you. That's always the best measure of an owl. Is there anything else you'll need for her?"

"I have a small room where I'm living specifically for owls so I don't really need a cage. I'll take some owl treats to start with though." Millard got a bag of owl treats and rang him up.

Sirius looked at the bird, "I'm living in Potter Hall not far from here. Can you find your way there or should I have my elf take you there the first time?"

The owl fluffed her feathers briefly then took off into the morning sky towards Potter Hall.

Harry asked, "How do the owls know where to go?"

Sirius cracked a smile and said, "It's magic, Harry," with a twinkle in his eye.

Harry glared at Sirius.

"OK you three, how would you like to have a little fun?"

Ron and Harry seemed interested but Hermione had reservations.

"Relax, Hermione. We're not going to do anything illegal. We're going to have a little fun at the _Daily Prophet_ 's expense."

"Well, if that's all,"

"I promise! Now, stay close and watch the master. Ron, the twins should be here. It's going to be one of the greatest pranks played in a long time."

Now Ron looked really interested. He rarely was let in on pranks the twins pulled off. They walked down the Alley to the _Daily Prophet_ 's office. When they entered they noticed a young witch behind the counter reading a copy of _Witch Weekly_ and popping some Droobles bubble gum. She heard the bell over the door chime.

"What can I do fer ya?"

"I would like to speak with the editor please."

"He's busy."

"I doubt he'll be too busy for me."

"He left word he wasn't to be interrupted."

"He'll see me."

"Just who are you if you think you're so special?" she still hadn't looked up from her magazine.

"Tell him Lord Black and Harry Potter are here to see him."

The witch dropped the magazine and gaped at the group in front of her, "Lord Black, of course. I'll just go tell Mr. Cuffe you're here." She quickly disappeared into the next room. She was followed back to the front by a short bald-headed man with wire rimmed glasses.

"Lord Black, how may I be of help to you? Are you here to give an exclusive interview for our readers?"

"Barnabas, it has been quite a while."

"Yes, it has," the man did not look like he was happy.

"Let me put this to you in very simple terms even you can understand. I will not, nor will I ever, willingly give you an interview unless I believe it is to my benefit. You will not, under any circumstances, contact my godson, Harry Potter, for an interview nor will you contact his friends. If I hear that Rita Skeeter has come within a mile of Harry without my permission, not only will she be looking for a job, you will too."

"Now see here Sirius. We're a public paper and have the right to publish articles of interest to our readers!"

"You may be a public paper, but you have been a mouthpiece for the Ministry for far too long. You are about to become a true public paper."

"But Fudge said…"

"Fudge has no hold over you or your paper. I, however, do. Mr. Potter and myself hold the majority shares in this rag. If you do not do as I just stated, I will throw the lot of you out and start from scratch. Is this simple enough terms for you to understand, Barnabas?"

"Of course Lord Black! I'll make sure everyone is aware of the change in focus."

"Oh, and I'll expect my first FREE copy of the _Prophet_ in the morning. You can send it to Potter Hall for now."

"Certainly. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"That should be all for now. I'll be keeping a close eye on this, as well as my other holdings." With that, Sirius turned and walked out followed by the three teens.

When they got a few steps from the paper all four burst out laughing.

"He looked like he swallowed a toad," said Ron.

"Would you really close them down, Sirius?" asked Hermione.

"Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to make them think someone is watching them and they are not a tool for the ministry."

Harry had finally regained his composure, "That was brilliant! I don't think the Minister is going to be very happy."

"The Minster's happiness is the least of my worries. Now, do you have anything else you need to do before you leave?"

All three shook their heads.

"Well, let's have some lunch. I think I've worked up an appetite! Shall we see what everyone else wants to do before we decide where we're going?"

Ron piped up, "I'd like to go to Fortescue's!"

Hermione said, "Ron, you ALWAYS want to go to Fortescue's."

They found the elder Weasleys in the parlor with Ginny and Percy. They started sharing the story of the events at the _Daily Prophet_. Percy didn't seem to be very pleased with the results but Ginny laughed with them. As they were discussing lunch plans the twins wandered in. They were also told of the events at the _Prophet_ and looked at Sirius and bowed down before him, "We are not worthy!" The room was filled with laughter again. The consensus of the group appeared to be Fortescue's after all. While the teens led the way, Sirius hung back with Arthur and Molly.

"After lunch I'd like to have a private word with you if you have time."

Arthur replied, "Of course. I hope there's nothing wrong."

"No, everything is just fine. In fact, it's more than fine."

Fortescue's was a bit busy but they were able to find three tables near each other. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat at one; the twins and Percy at another; the adults sat at the third table. The twins looked like they weren't exactly happy about their draw of lunch partners. The younger teens were talking about their new classes and who they were looking forward to seeing again on the train when they heard a voice they had hoped they wouldn't hear until tomorrow at the earliest.

"Well if it isn't Potty, Weasel and the Mudblood. Who let you lot out? Weasel, I'm surprised your family can afford to buy your books much less take you out." Harry was about to say something when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Sirius smoothly entered the conversation, "You must be Draco Malfoy. Harry has told me quite a bit about you."

"Who are you?" Draco sneered.

"I am Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, Mr. Malfoy. Now, is your father with you?" Sirius put special emphasis on the full title.

"I don't need …," but was cut off when his father showed up.

"Now Draco, mind your manners. Sirius. I heard you were a free man."

"Lucius. I was just about to instruct your son on the proper way to address the Head of an Ancient and Noble House, the heir to another as well as those who are under the protection of the House of Black."

Recognizing the faux pas his son had just committed, Lucius looked even paler than he normally did, "Of course Lord Black. I will speak with him about his comportment. Please accept our apologies to you and your party for his error." He nodded to the rest, "Lord Black, Heir Potter, Arthur, Molly." And with that the Malfoys headed further down the alley.

Once the group had regained some semblance of order Harry finally asked, "Can you explain to me what just happened?"

"When we get back to the Leaky Cauldron. It is something you would already know had you been raised by a proper wizarding family. Let's just say you shouldn't have any further problems from young Malfoy. If you do, I want you to let me know. And that goes for the rest of you. I just put them on notice that you are all under the protection of the House of Black. Any slight to you is a slight to the House. That doesn't mean you are to provoke him," he gave the twins a stern glare, "but if he continues to demean or insult you as he just did, I want you to tell me or tell Remus. He will also understand. I'll let Remus know about this little incident. Now, who's ready for ice cream?"

Florean Fortescue came by and took their dessert orders and promptly returned with their confections. Ron looked like he'd died and gone to heaven. Harry couldn't tell just how many different types of chocolate were in Ron's dish because of all of the whipped cream and nuts topping it off. Once finished, they all went back to the Leaky Cauldron. The teens were sent to their rooms to finish their packing for tomorrow. Sirius accompanied Molly and Arthur to their room. Once the door was closed, Sirius put up privacy and silencing wards.

"Sirius, may I ask what this is about? That seems a bit extreme for just a conversation among parents," noted Arthur.

"If the twins are anything like James and I were, I suspect they have something they can use to eavesdrop. It is mostly for them although you never know what other ears are out there. I didn't mean to surprise you there with Malfoy, but I meant what I said about you being under the protection of the House of Black. I am well aware of what happened with the Weasley family all those years ago. I am firmly of the belief that the sons should not suffer for the sins of the father."

"That is very kind of you Sirius, but we are quite happy as we are."

"I know that. I'm not trying to make any changes there, but I want you to be able to hold your head proudly among the pureblood bigots in our world."

"Thank you."

"I did not know that Malfoy was going to be spouting off his nonsense, otherwise I would have discussed this with you before. The main reason I wanted to speak with you this afternoon is a request Harry made of me earlier. He wanted to thank you for your kindness to him."

Molly interrupted, "It's no problem. Harry is such a nice boy. If we could have adopted him we would have."

"I know you would. Harry said you gave him his first Christmas present."

"It was just a jumper. I make those for all of the children each year."

"It may seem like something trivial to you but to Harry it was a validation that he mattered to someone."

"Those muggles should be ashamed of themselves for how they've treated him! Did he tell you about our sons having to break him out of there last summer?" exclaimed Molly.

"Yes and trust me, those muggles will be getting exactly what is coming to them. Now, earlier today I spent some time with my account manager at Gringotts. I have established a trust account for your children for the remainder of their time at Hogwarts. It will cover their tuition, books and incidentals, to include robes, as well as a small amount of pocket money. I've also instructed the goblins to reimburse your vault for the expenses you have incurred already for this year."

Arthur interrupted, "That is extremely generous of you, Sirius, but we really can't accept this."

"I know you view this as charity, but it isn't. Accept this as the faith of the House of Black and its obligations to the House of Weasley as a result of accepting you under its protection. I have also established the same thing for Hermione. Harry told me about the muggleborn scholarship fund that his parents have established and I suspect he would have tried to have Hermione as one of the first ones awarded, but this is something better for her and her family. Once things have calmed down a bit I'll meet with her parents and explain to them what it means to have their daughter under the protection of the House of Black."

"If you put it that way, I guess we will accept your generosity."

"Thank you Arthur, Molly." He reached in his robe pocket and extracted the key to the vault and handed it to Arthur. "This is in no way contingent upon Harry's friendship with any of your children."

"Thank you, Sirius," said Molly.

"Now, I also have sacks of gold for each of them for their spending allowance for the year. How would you like to handle that?"

"Perhaps at dinner tonight. They all know that you have been our sponsor for this trip now. You can just hand it out as spending money for the year if you'd like."

"Of course. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is Ginny."

"What about her?" asked Molly.

"Has she received any treatment since the Chamber of Secrets incident?"

"What kind of treatment?" asked Arthur.

"Has she been seen by a mind healer? Possession can cause a good bit of damage if it's not followed up on."

"No. Dumbledore didn't suggest anything when Madam Pomfrey released her from the hospital wing," said Arthur.

"And you still trust what Albus Dumbledore tells you? Especially when it comes to the health and well-being of his students?" asked Sirius.

"Well I guess it's not something we thought about."

"I'll ask Remus to keep any eye out on her and Minerva to as well. If she starts withdrawing or showing any other similar behavior they'll let us know."

"Thank you. We just didn't think about it like that."

"Now, should I call Hermione in here or how do you think I should handle this?"

"Why don't I just step out and ask her in here?" said Molly.

While she did that, Arthur said, "This really is quite generous of you, Sirius. Our family is in your debt."

"No you are not. You are now part of the House of Black. It is how a Head of House should treat all members of his House."

Molly walked back in with Hermione. She looked a little confused.

"Hello Hermione. Why don't you have a seat there?"

When she did, she started asking her multipart, mile an hour, rapid fire questions, "So what does it mean to be under the protection of the House of Black and what is an Ancient and Noble House? How does Harry fit into this?"

Sirius held up a hand, "One at a time, Hermione. Breathe. Now, to give you a history on wizarding family nobility would take quite a while. Harry will be learning this next summer and I'll see about having you with him when he does. In the meantime he has a book on wizarding nobility that I'm sure he will let you read. If you remember your muggle history of feudal times, nobles would grant certain people protections in return for their service. In modern times it's used to put others on notice that you are considered a member of the House and should be respected as such. As a muggleborn witch, you have virtually no rights in the wizarding world. You rank just above squibs. What I have done is accept you as a protected member of House Black. This will keep morons such as Malfoy from taking further advantage of you."

"So does that mean I would become some sort of Lady?"

"No. not unless you married into the House and to someone in the line of succession. What it does mean is that I have accepted you into my house and that I will ensure your welfare. As such, I have established a trust vault at Gringotts for you which will pay for your tuition, books, supplies, and that includes robes, and a small spending allowance for the remainder of the time you are at Hogwarts. I've already instructed the goblins to repay your parents for this year's tuition."

Hermione's eyes grew wide at what that meant, "But, but…"

"No buts, Hermione. It's already done. Once I have had a chance to get some other things straightened out I'll speak with your parents and explain it to them. In fact, I'm not exactly sure how the goblins are going to explain the reimbursement to your parents. Probably some sort of accounting error. As I was just explaining to the Weasleys, this account stands regardless of whether you and Harry remain friends."

For the first time in her life, Hermione Granger was speechless.

"Relax Hermione. I will also discuss with your parents the need to appoint a magical guardian for you. This person would be responsible for all things magical and would work with your parents to ensure you are taken care of in both worlds. This would also serve as a barrier for any manipulations by Dumbledore. Now, another thing I want to ensure is that none of you are being subjected to any type of charm such as Harry was. Remus will be able to do that when you get to Hogwarts."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, now here's the key to your vault. Go back before someone thinks we're plotting someone's demise. We'll be explaining some of this tonight at dinner if anyone starts getting overly curious."

With that settled, Sirius went to check on Harry.

"How did it go?"

"Well, the Weasleys protested as we expected but I was able to frame it in a way that they could accept it gracefully. Hermione, however, was speechless once she took in what I was saying."

"You're kidding me! Hermione speechless? Shall we mark the date down in history?"

"Probably, pup. I expect Hermione will ask to borrow your book on wizarding nobility. I've offered to let her sit in on your lessons on House responsibilities next summer."

Harry groaned, " You mean I'll have lessons other than what Madam Longbottom will be giving?"

"Yes. We have a lot of ground to get you caught up on. Augusta will be working with you on wizard etiquette, customs and courtesies to start with. These are things Neville is already aware of that you should know. Now, is there anything else you think you will need before you leave tomorrow?"

"Not that I can think of."

"You still have all of your homework?"

Harry stopped himself before he rolled his eyes, "Yes. It's all safe and sound."

"Did Ron give you any problems about switching out of Divination?"

"He wasn't happy about it, but he's going to give it a try anyway. I told him if he didn't like it after the first class to talk to Professor McGonagall about switching classes. If he didn't feel comfortable talking to her right away he could go to Remus."

"Good advice. Now, you're taking your parents with you, correct?"

"Yeah. I figure I'll take them with me when I take Snape mum's journal. She sounded like she wanted to give him what for," he said with a sly grin.

"Oh to be a fly on the wall for that."

"That may be the only time I'll ever volunteer to clean cauldrons."

"Don't let the greasy git get to you. I think both Remus and Minerva have talked to him, but don't expect him to change overnight. I'm going to go back to Potter Hall for a bit then I'll be back for dinner tonight. Is there anything in the Potter Library that you want?"

"No, I think I have enough books for now. The potions books Remus gave me helped a lot as well as the charms book. Maybe if there's anything basic about runes?"

"I'll give it a check. There's probably more at Potter Manor so if you find you do need some additional texts let me know and I'll go there and see what I can find. And no, Hermione cannot ask me to pack up the library for her."

Harry walked down to Ron's room to see how he was doing. Pig was flapping about in his cage eager to escape.

"I think Pig will be a lot happier when he gets to Hogwarts and can go out and fly whenever he wants to. I think he just gets overactive when he's caged up."

"Yeah, maybe. So, how about a game of chess?"

"You just want to exert your superiority, don't you?"

"Gotta do it where I can."

They took the chess set down to the parlor so they had more room to spread out. Hermione wandered down shortly after they started the first game and Ginny came down at the start of the second one. By six everyone else had filtered down for dinner and Sirius had returned. Tom brought dinner in for them and left. Once pudding had been served, Sirius got up and ensured the door was properly locked and silencing charms applied.

"I am sure some of you were wondering what plots your parents and I were hatching behind closed doors this afternoon," eying the twins, "but it wasn't anything nefarious. As I said when I was talking to Malfoy, everyone in this room is now under the protection of House Black. I take this responsibility, pardon the pun, seriously. The exact details I've worked out with your parents, but I expect everyone here to behave as proper young witches and wizards. That does not mean you can't do a bit of pranking. Although Remus is one of your professors, he is also the Steward for House Potter. If there is something you need that you don't know who to ask, try him. Now, one last thing I have for you all." He reached into his robes and pulled out the six sacks of gold he had gotten at Gringotts and handed them out. Just to play along, Harry held his hand out too.

"Cheeky brat. You have yours!"

After spending a bit more time together they all headed to their respective rooms. The Knight Limo would pick them up at ten so everyone was expected to be down for breakfast at eight. Molly looked pointedly at Ron when this was said.

The twins captured Sirius for a moment off to the side. They had an old, battered piece of parchment with them. Sirius smiled, recognizing the Marauder's map. He tapped the map with his wand, speaking the password, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." It soon filled in with a map of Hogwarts and it environs.

Fred spoke up, "So if you were a Marauder, who are the others?"

Sirius bowed, "Mr. Padfoot at your service. Prongs was Harry's dad, James. His animagus form was a stag. Moony was Remus. You can guess who the other one was."

"Can it do anything else?" asked George.

"Well, if someone else tries to access it without the password it will insult them until they give up. We modeled it after something we saw in Zonko's."

"If all we wanted to do was ask it to locate a certain person, could it?" asked Fred.

"We didn't spell it to do that, but I'm sure it could be done. I'll have to talk with Remus about it. Now, upstairs with you!"

Sirius took Harry aside to see whether he might want to stay at Potter Hall for the night, but he declined. He wanted some time to think about all that had happened in a little over two weeks before he had to think about Hogwarts and what may happen there.


	28. Hogwarts Express

**A/N: So my poetry skills are lacking at the moment.**

 **Disclaimer: It's about time I thanked the illustrious J.K. Rowling for allowing me to play with her creation.**

 **28\. Hogwarts Express**

Despite the plans for everyone to be ready by ten, there was still quite a lot of last minute running around. Harry and Hermione sat back watching the chaos before them. Percy had also been ready by the time the others had come down for breakfast. Thankful for their shrinking trunks, Harry, Ron and Hermione placed them in their pockets so that they only had their owl cages (or in Hermione's case, Crookshanks and his basket) to carry.

The Knight Limo was also right on time allowing the group to arrive at Kings Cross Station with plenty of time to spare. Sirius pulled Harry off to the side after they'd crossed the barrier.

Sirius reached up and unhooked the necklace from around his neck, "Don't forget this. We need to keep Dumbledore thinking he's still tracking you. Once we get the guardianship finalized you can have Hedwig drop it wherever you want."

Harry took the item and stuffed it in a pocket.

"Now, I want you to let me know when you're there. I know Remus will be there but I want to make sure you don't have any problems on the train. Oh, and don't forget, I'll be at St. Mungo's at least this afternoon."

This time Harry did roll his eyes, "Yes mum."

Sirius ruffled Harry's unruly hair and said, "I'll let that slide this time, pup. Now, why don't you go find yourself a good compartment before they're all taken." He gave Harry a brief hug and sent him on his way. They were both oblivious to the stares they were getting. Other than his visit to Diagon Alley, most people had not seen him since his release. As the train left the station, he apparated back to the alley near Potter Hall. He collected his overnight bag and then apparated to St. Mungo's for his promised check up.

The trio found an unoccupied compartment near the middle of the train. Neville soon joined them. They introduced their new familiars to Neville and he kept Trevor, his toad, as far away from the owls as he could. He knew in his head that the owls knew better than to attack a wizard's familiar but he wasn't ready to take that chance. When Neville wondered who was going to be their DADA professor this year the other three told them about Remus and that they actually knew they would have a competent professor this year.

When the witch with the food trolley came by, they all got a couple of things (well, Ron wanted to buy one of everything until Harry reminded him that his gold had to last him the full year). They had a blissfully Malfoy-free ride even though his henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle, came by there several times. They looked completely lost without their leader.

They were still about an hour from Hogwarts when the train started slowing down. They could hear the volume of conversation rise.

Hermione asked, "I wonder why we're slowing down. We've still got about an hour to go before we reach Hogsmeade station. I've never heard of the Hogwarts Express breaking down."

Ron answered, "I guess there's always a first time for everything."

Harry was looking out the window to see if he could see anything. He did notice the windows starting to frost over and the temperature in the compartment go down rapidly. He suddenly felt like he was back at the Dursleys and he'd never be able to leave there again. As he felt himself slump into the seat he heard someone screaming and saw a flash of green light. Then all he remembered was blackness.

Unknown to the students on the train, there was a hidden compartment at the rear of the train where two professors kept watch. While the Head Boy and Girl and prefects were expected to keep order on the train ride, there were always a couple of faculty members keeping watch just in case of something unforeseen. Today's riders were Professors Flitwick and Vector. The Head Boy and Girl were aware of their presence but were to contact them only in case of a true emergency. This was an emergency. Luckily, Percy was in the rear of the train checking up on his brothers as well as two groups of first years when the train stopped. He quickly recognized the signs of a Dementor attack. They were covered in third year DADA. He went to the last compartment of the train and tapped his wand on the bulkhead while saying a password only he and the Head Girl knew. Before he could finish the password the door opened and the two professors hurried out.

There are times when Filius' size was a hindrance but this was not one of them. He made his way forward rapidly until he found the rogue Dementor about to open a compartment door. He quickly cast the _Patronus_ charm driving the Dementor away from the train. By this time Percy and Professor Vector caught up with him.

"Check each of the compartments. Make sure everyone has a piece of chocolate to start with. If you need more, check with the matron running the trolley for extra. The Dementor had just opened this compartment so I'll check on the students here."

The other two rapidly dispersed along the train checking on the students. Vector went to find the trolley witch first to make her aware of the need of her services again. Percy found Penelope and told her what was happening. They gathered up the prefects who were nearby and dispersed them throughout the train to check on the rest of the students. With the others off to their assignments Flitwick entered the compartment in question to find Weasley, Granger and Longbottom gathered around someone on the floor. Wherever Weasley and Granger were, there had to be Harry Potter. He moved the other students back so he could do a quick diagnostic on Harry. Seeing nothing amiss he asked Granger to tell him what happened, knowing she would be able to give him an unemotional report.

"The train began to slow down and the temperature dropped. Harry was looking out the window when it started to frost over. The next thing I saw was him covering his ears and then he fainted. Is he alright?"

"He appears to be just fine. I'll try a quick _Ennervate_ on him. Meanwhile, do you have any chocolate in here?"

Ron volunteered several chocolate frogs he still had.

"Very good. Everybody eat some. It will make you feel much better. Yes, Miss Granger, this is for medicinal purposes. I believe your parents would approve."

Flitwick quickly cast the spell and Harry began to come around.

"Rest easy, Mr. Potter. Do you feel you can sit up?"

"Yes sir. What happened?"

"Somehow a Dementor got on the train."

"What's a Dementor?"

"They guard the wizard prison at Azkaban. Though what one was doing this far from there is something we will be investigating. Now, Mr. Weasley, if you would provide him with a frog and we'll see how he feels after it."

Harry quickly caught the frog on its first jump and bit it. The relief he felt flooded through him while he finished it off.

"Did anyone else pass out?" Harry asked.

"We're still checking the train, Mr. Potter. Can you tell me what happened?"

Harry gave a story that mirrored Hermione's except for the part about hearing a woman screaming and seeing a green light. When Harry got to that part, Professor Flitwick grew concerned.

"What does that mean, Professor?"

"I have an idea, but need to investigate it further. I'll send a message ahead to have Professor Lupin meet you at the station. I also need to inform the elves to have hot chocolate available for everyone at the feast. If you need anything further don't hesitate to find me, Professor Vector or the Head Boy and Girl." With that, he left the compartment intent on his next task.

The train began to move again. The atmosphere on it had quickly become subdued as everyone recovered from the effects of the Dementor. Percy stopped by to check on his brother and his friends. Satisfied that they were taking the appropriate steps, he moved along down the train. By the time the train reached Hogsmeade everyone was ready to be off.

Harry moved slowly from the train accompanied by his three friends. Remus quickly found them to check on them and take Harry up to the castle.

"I'm OK Remus, really."

"No you are not and you will not argue with me on this. You're still deathly pale. Have you had some chocolate?"

"I had two chocolate frogs."

"That's a start. And the rest of you?"

The others also nodded.

"Very well. I'll just accompany you in the carriage. Hermione, I believe Professor McGonagall needs to speak with you. It's to discuss your schedule." She nodded absently in acknowledgement.

This was Harry's first ride in the carriages, having missed them the year before because of arriving in the Weasley's car and the first year riding on the boats.

Harry, finally regaining some composure, asked, "What's pulling the carriages or do they just move on their own?"

Hermione answered, "Nothing's pulling the carriages, Harry."

Remus replied, "That is not entirely correct, Hermione. Thestrals are pulling the carriages."

Now Hermione was vexed, having discovered something about Hogwarts she had not read in _Hogwarts: A History_ , "Why can't we see them?"

"You have to have witnessed death to be able to see them. They have earned a bad reputation because of that but they are very gentle animals. Their sense of direction is as good, or better, than any owl. You'll learn about them in Care of Magical Creatures."

They had now arrived at the castle and exited their carriage. Hermione went in search of Professor McGonagall while Remus herded Harry towards the Hospital Wing.

"I'm fine Remus! I don't want to start out my year in the Hospital Wing even before the feast!"

"Sirius will kill us both if I don't have you checked out."

"Can it at least wait until after the feast? I don't want to miss another sorting."

"Alright, you must promise me to drink several cups of hot chocolate and then you are going to see Madam Pomfrey immediately after. I will escort you there."

Harry, realizing he wasn't going to win this battle, gave up and headed into the Great Hall to join his friends. Hermione came in shortly before Professor McGonagall led the first years in. Placing the stool in front of the Hall and setting the Sorting Hat on it, she joined the rest of the Hall in anticipation of the Hat's start of the year wisdom. As if on cue, a rip appeared in the brim and the Hat began its song:

 _Welcome all both new and old_

 _Into this Hall glittering with gold;_

 _Another year has just begun_

 _With hopes of learning, not just fun._

 _We sit at tables divided by house_

 _And learn the fate of those before you._

 _Shall you go to Gryffindor,_

 _Home of the brave and daring?_

 _Perhaps to Hufflepuff,_

 _Home of the loyal and just._

 _Some will go to fair Ravenclaw_

 _Home of those of wit and wisdom._

 _Which leaves for last the Slytherin,_

 _Home of the sly and cunning._

 _Whichever House you find your place_

 _Always remember this is not a race._

 _Be sure to take some time and pause_

 _To make good friends among them all._

 _To continue the feuds and sharp divides_

 _Only cause all more harm._

 _So take a rest and put me on_

 _I'll take a look at what you're about._

 _Be you Lion, Badger, Serpent or Raven_

 _I'll sort you into your new haven._

When the applause for the hat's song died down, Professor McGonagall began calling the roll of the new first years. Gryffindor had gained another ten members; five boys and five girls. The Headmaster gave his start of term announcements, first introducing Professor Lupin as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and then, as the new Care of Magical Creatures professor, he introduced Hagrid. Loud cheers and applause could be heard from the Gryffindor table for both with the Weasley twins leading it. Finally Professor Dumbledore touched on the incident on the train.

"I wish I could tell you that the presence of the Dementor on the Hogwarts Express was an expected event but it was not. I have been in touch with the Ministry and they have opened an investigation. I will keep you informed of their progress. And now, let us enjoy this lovely feast."

At that point, the tables filled with dishes of all kinds. When everyone had their fill, the dishes cleared themselves and a variety of puddings replaced them. After everyone was practically in a food coma, it was time to find their way to their respective dormitories. Harry told his friends he needed to see Remus before he could join them. He was not going to tell them he had to go see Madam Pomfrey already. Remus was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall.

"Professor."

"Mr. Potter. Shall we?"

"I suppose you've already sent an owl to Sirius telling him about this," Harry muttered.

"No. I was going to let you do that once you'd been checked over."

"Knowing Madam Pomfrey she'll want to keep me overnight. Sirius will be upset with me when he doesn't hear something first thing in the morning."

"If she wants to keep you overnight I'll send an owl to Sirius. As far as I know he's still at St. Mungo's. I haven't heard from him today."

"Oh, right. Well maybe he won't be too upset."

"I wouldn't count on it. What he will be upset about is how a Dementor found its way to the Hogwarts Express. I'm sure he'll be stirring up as much trouble as he can at the Ministry."

"Do you know who Dumbledore contacted at the Ministry?"

"No, I don't, but I've already sent an owl to Amelia Bones informing her of the incident as soon as we received Filius' _Patronus_ message."

"So what is a _Patronus_?"

"It is a spell used against Dementors primarily. It is a magical protector. It takes the form of an animal. Many times it is the same animal form as your animagus but not all wizards can cast one just as not all wizards can become an animagus."

"Can you teach me?"

"Perhaps later. Now, I believe we are here." Remus said, opening the door to the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey quickly met them.

"Mr. Potter, I see you are starting this term off as you ended the last one. What seems to be the matter this time?"

Remus answered for him, "He had a bad reaction to the Dementor on the train. Apparently he briefly lost consciousness."

"Is this true, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Well sit here and let me check you over. I trust you had hot chocolate at dinner."

"Yes Ma'am plus I ate two chocolate frogs on the train."

She waved her wand over him in several different patterns, "It doesn't appear you have suffered any lasting effects but I would still like to keep you here overnight."

Harry looked at Remus like, 'I told you so.'

"Are you sure that is necessary, Poppy?"

"Well, not totally necessary but in Mr. Potter's case, you can never be sure exactly how he will react to anything."

Remus laughed, "I am beginning to learn that about him. However, since nothing appears to be amiss perhaps it would be ok if he goes back to the tower tonight with the instructions to go straight to bed and, if he feels bad in the morning, he can let either of us know." He gave Harry a pointed look.

"I suppose that will be fine. I understand you have limited guardianship authority over him while he is in the castle. Minerva told me about it."

"Yes and I will be letting his guardian know about the incident."

"In that case I will release him to your care."

Once they were out of the doors Harry let out the breath he'd been holding. "I told you she would want to keep me."

"Your reputation precedes you. Now, how about I walk you to the tower? I don't believe you have the password yet and I don't want you being caught out after curfew by a certain Potions Master who would probably expect you to be roaming the halls."

The moving staircases were working in their favor so they made it to the portrait hole very quickly. Remus spoke the password to the Fat Lady of "Fortuna Major" and she allowed Harry to pass.

As expected, Hermione and Ron were waiting for him in the common room.

"I'm fine. Remus was just being over-protective. He talked Madam Pomfrey out of keeping me overnight."

"Yeah mate, but you have to admit, it was a bit scary. Does anybody know why you acted that way?"

"It's Harry, that should be enough reason," replied Hermione.

Harry did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at them both, "Thanks for being my friend, both of you."

Knowing he still needed to get his trunk situated and write a quick note to Sirius, Harry headed up the stairs to the dormitory. Actually having pajamas that fit him in the drafty castle was a new experience he was looking forward to. He climbed into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	29. Galloping Hippogriffs

**29\. Galloping Hippogriffs**

Harry woke up somewhat refreshed and ready for the start of a new school year. He finally had to drag Ron out of bed by reminding him that he would miss breakfast if he didn't hurry. Harry went down into the common room to wait. Of course, Hermione was already there waiting for both of them.

"Do you have any idea what our schedules are going to look like today, Hermione?"

"No. I suspect we're going to be even busier than last year." Telling a half-truth as Professor McGonagall had shown her their schedule last night at their meeting.

Ron finally came down the stairs and they went to breakfast. Harry took a quick look up at the staff table to find Remus looking at him quizzically. Harry just nodded his head as if to let him know he was just fine this morning. After he sat down and began serving himself eggs and bacon, a vial appeared next to his knife. Recognizing it as the nutritive potion he'd been taking, he quickly downed the contents, made a face at the taste and set it down. This time when he looked up at the staff table there were two sets of eyes on him; Remus and Professor Snape. Harry gave a quick salute with the empty vial and resumed his breakfast. When he was about half-way through, Professor McGonagall came down and began to distribute their schedules.

Ron looked at his and groaned, "Divination the first day back. Well, it's got to be better than having Snape first thing." He looked over at Hermione's schedule, "Hey, how can you have Divination, Muggle Studies AND Arithmancy all at the same time, Hermione? You'd have to be in three places at once."

"Don't be silly, Ron. How can anyone be in three places at the same time?"

"So what about you, Harry?"

Harry smiled, "I have a free period. Guess I'll go send off that message to Sirius."

"That's just not fair!" replied Ron.

Harry headed up to the owlery while Ron and Hermione set off to find the North Tower. He'd brought an extra piece of bacon for Hedwig just to give her a treat.

"Hello girl. Happy to be back at Hogwarts?" The owl bobbed her head.

"Will you take this letter to Sirius for me? He may not be at Potter Hall. I don't know if they let owls in at St. Mungo's. Well, I know you'll know what to do." He tied the missive to the owl's leg, gave her the piece of bacon as a bribe, then off she went. Still having a good half hour before he had to be at Transfiguration, he went to the library instead of all the way back to the Gryffindor tower. He was glad Ron wasn't there to see him; he'd accuse him of turning into Hermione.

Harry arrived at the Transfiguration classroom before his friends. Professor McGonagall noticed him and invited him into the room.

"Mr. Potter, how are you doing after all of the excitement you've been through these past few weeks?"

"Good, Professor McGonagall."

"And how is Sirius?"

"He's doing really well. He's at St. Mungo's right now being checked over after his stay in Azkaban, but he appears to be fine."

"I can't believe those three became animagi right under my nose. If I hear of you and your two friends trying that, you will not be pleased at the result."

Harry laughed, "No Ma'am. Sirius warned us all about not trying it until after we've finished our OWLs."

"Well, maybe he does have a shred of intelligence after all. If you have some time after dinner Friday evening I would like to talk to you about some of the things brought up in your parents' will."

"What time?"

"Why don't we make it eight."

"Sure. I'll see you then."

His other classmates begin filtering into the room by that time. There seemed to be a subdued air around the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuffs in the room appeared to be just fine.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

Hermione answered, "It's a good thing you weren't in Divination after all. We were reading tea leaves and she looked at Ron's and predicted his best friend would come to an untimely end."

"I'm not even in the class and she's predicting my death?" Harry raised his eyes to the ceiling then said, "Thank you Sirius for not letting me take that class."

"Settle down, class. Now what has you all abuzz this morning?"

Ron answered, "We just had Divination with Professor Trelawney."

"Let me guess; one of you will be dying this year."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And who is it this year?"

"Harry." Everyone in the room stared at him.

"And how is that possible when Mr. Potter wasn't even in the classroom?"

"She predicted my best friend would die. Everybody knows that's Harry."

"Hmph. Well, Professor Trelawney predicts the death of at least one student at the beginning of every term. Usually it is a third year. Suffice it to say none of her predictions have ever come true. However, Mr. Potter, if you do find yourself in the afterlife before our next class I will excuse you from homework." At that statement everyone in the room laughed.

"Now, why don't we begin our discussion this morning with a demonstration of one type of transfiguration."

With that introduction she transformed into her cat animagus form. Everyone in the room seemed visibly impressed but Harry just burst out laughing. She quickly transformed back into her human form. "And what do you find so amusing about this, Mr. Potter?"

Harry took a few moments to catch his breath, "I believe I should explain it to you after class, Professor," he said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Professor McGonagall quickly resumed her discussion of the animagus transformation. She emphasized the same point that Sirius had about not attempting it until after your fifth year to allow your magical core to mature. Today they would begin their class by turning a tea pot into a mouse. She passed the tea pots out to each student and had them begin.

Knowing this was one of the spells he had practiced with Sirius and Remus, Harry took a few minutes to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. He focused on how he wanted the mouse to look. The tea pot he had was red with silver highlights. He pictured a mouse in his mind that was silver with a red tail. Once he had the picture set, he said the incantation and did the proper wand movement. When he opened his eyes, there was the mouse he had pictured.

"Well done, Mr. Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Hermione looked at Harry with amazement. She was always the first one to get a spell. She tried again and she had a tea pot with a mouse tail.

Harry leaned over, "Relax Hermione. Close your eyes and picture the way you want the mouse to look like and take a couple of deep breaths. Then try it." Hermione did just that then opened her eyes to begin the incantation but Harry stopped her, "No, keep your eyes closed." She went through the same movements again and this time her tea pot turned into a white mouse with a pink tail.

"It worked! How did you know that?"

"Remember I've been working on my magic the past two weeks," he replied quietly. The others in the room continued practicing. Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan also managed the transfiguration before class was over. While the others filed out, Harry hung back to talk to Professor McGonagall. When Ron and Hermione waited for him, he sent them on to the Great Hall with a promise he would be right behind them.

"Now, Mr. Potter, what pray tell, did you find so amusing about my animagus transformation?"

Harry smiled, "Well, Sirius was telling me some of the pranks they had pulled when they were here and …"

"Say no more. I believe I know of the incident you are referring to. I hope you don't fall under the negative influence of your godfather."

"I'll try not to."

"Now, we're going to have to discuss your newly found magical powers. I would suggest you may want to make a few errors before actually succeeding for a while. You received some excellent instruction on how to perform transfiguration. As you learned, the success of a spell is very dependent upon intent. Professor Flitwick has been made aware of most of what has transpired, so you might want to work with him in helping you learn to control your newfound power."

"Thank you Professor. I'll talk to him."

"I believe it's time we joined the others in the Great Hall. We wouldn't want your friends to think I'd turned you into a teapot, would we?"

Harry quickly found his friends at the Gryffindor table. Naturally Hermione wanted to know what the conference was all about.

"Not here, Hermione. I'll talk to you about it once we're outside and away from prying ears," jerking a head backwards toward Malfoy. Quickly finishing their lunch they headed out onto the grounds for their first Care of Magical Creatures class.

"OK, now spill it, Harry," said Hermione. Harry had hoped she'd forget about it.

"Well, let's just say the Marauders played a major prank on Professor McGonagall once and it was related to her animagus form. I promised not to tell the full story and I think Professor McGonagall would kill me if I told anyone else, especially if it had the chance to get back to the twins. The other thing she wanted to talk to me about was my new magical powers. I need to tone it down so nobody suspects anything. She said Flitwick also knew about it."

They had arrived at Hagrid's hut and waited for the half-giant to make an appearance. Harry realized this was another class they had with the Slytherins. This did not bode well for Hagrid. Hagrid came out of his hut and had them all follow him to an area off to the side that looked something like a horse paddock.

"Gather 'round everone. Now I've got a real treat fer ya today. Stay put while I go get 'em." While they waited for Hagrid to come back, Harry looked around at the others in the class. Of course, there was Malfoy with his two bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. Hagrid came back leading several somethings that looked like a cross between a horse and an eagle.

"Can anybody tell me what these are?" He looked around hopefully but nobody seem to know, "didn't anybody open their books b'for now?"

Malfoy answered quickly, "How are we to do that when it attacks us?"

"Nobody opened their books yet?" asked Hagrid, crestfallen. He looked around and saw everyone indicating that nobody had been able to open their book. "All you got ter do is stroke it," reaching for Hermione's book and demonstrating. Malfoy made a comment under his breath but luckily Hagrid didn't hear it.

"These beauties are hippogriffs. A hippogriff is a very proud animal. You don't want ter make 'im angry. Now watch closely while I show yer how to approach one."

Hagrid went over to one and bowed deeply, "Firs' ye need to bow. Now you have ter keep eye contact with the hippogriff. If he bows back yer fine to approach 'im. If he doesn't then you want to back away quickly." The hippogriff lowered his head in a bow. Hagrid went over and scratch the beast between his eyes and down his beak.

"This 'ere hippogriff is Buckbeak. He's sorta the leader of this herd. Now, who wants to come meet 'im?" Hagrid looked around as nobody volunteered. Finally, seeing Hagrid rapidly losing his nerve, Harry stepped up.

"Harry, come on over."

Harry entered the paddock and walked over to where Hagrid was, keeping an eye on Buckbeak.

"Now, bow to Buckbeak."

Harry bowed but kept his eyes on Buckbeak. He was about to get up when Hagrid told him not to move. Slowly the hippogriff lowered his head in a bow.

"Very good, Harry. Now come on over and pet him."

Harry walked over to Buckbeak and reached up hesitantly to pat the thing's beak. It seemed to like the feel because it closed its eyes momentarily.

"Well done, Harry. Now I think he'll let you ride 'im."

Before Harry could protest, Hagrid picked him up and set him down on the hippogriff's back.

"Now, don't pull his feathers. He won't like that." The next thing Harry heard was a slap and the hippogriff started running then he was in the air. The hippogriff soared up by the castle and over the lake. This was almost as good as flying on his broom, thought Harry. At least with his broom he knew how to control it. He wasn't quite sure how to control the hippogriff. As they came over the lake they began to go lower. Now Harry worried about how to stop the beast without being thrown over its head. Evidently that wasn't a problem because Buckbeak landed back in the paddock and then walked up to Hagrid. Hagrid gave him a dead ferret as a reward then helped Harry down.

"Alrigh' everybody, come on in and pick out a hippogriff. I've got one for evry three of ye." The others slowly entered the paddock and picked out a hippogriff. Harry joined Ron and Hermione over at one with brown skin and white iridescent feathers. Thinking it might be a wise thing to do, Harry looked over at Malfoy. He and his goons had taken over Buckbeak. Instead of bowing to the animal Malfoy strode right up to the hippogriff and tried to pet his beak. The hippogriff recoiled and reared up on it back legs. It quickly came down by Malfoy knocking the boy down.

"Did you see what that crazy beast did to me? I'm bleeding! Wait until my father hears about this! That beast will be history."

Hagrid came over to look at the damage. Quickly realizing he'd need to take the boy to the hospital wing he dismissed the rest of the class.

Harry and his friends went up to Gryffindor tower to begin their Transfiguration homework. Dinner time approached and they went down hoping to talk to Hagrid afterwards. When they saw that Hagrid was not at dinner they all looked at each other anxiously.

"This can't be good if Hagrid's not here," said Harry.

"Knowing Malfoy, he's already sent a letter to his father telling him how the hippogriff tried to kill him," said Ron.

"Why don't we go check on Hagrid after dinner?" asked Harry.

The three teens quickly finished their dinner and proceeded down to Hagrid's hut. They had to knock several times before the half-giant opened the door. It was clear the man had been drinking.

"Hagrid, what's wrong?" asked Harry

"I'm going to go down in Hogwarts history as the first teacher who had his wand snapped and last less than a full day as a teacher," he cried.

"Hagrid, have you been sacked?" asked Hermione.

"No, not yet, but they had to report the incident to the Ministry. Knowing those blokes they'll fire me and kill Buckbeak!"

"Hagrid, we were there! We saw what Malfoy did. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey had him fixed up in no time," said Hermione.

"Look, I'll let Sirius know what happened. He'll be able to head off Malfoy, Sr. and get this cleared up in no time," added Harry.

"Ye'd do that fer me, Harry?"

"Of course! Malfoy is a git and everyone knows it. Nobody's had the guts to stand up to him or his father. I think he's going to meet his match now."

"Hagrid, we do need to talk about what you are planning to teach," said Hermione.

"Yeah, Hagrid, we're behind you," added Ron.

Hagrid went outside and dumped the bucket of rainwater over his head, instantly sobering himself up. He gave Hermione a list of animals he planned to cover so she could give him some pointers.

Harry suddenly had an idea, "Hagrid, Remus is teaching us about dark creatures this year. I know you aren't going to have any dark creatures on your list to teach, but maybe he can give you some pointers. I'll talk to him and see what he can do as well."

"Thank ye. You three are good friends."

They headed back to the castle and Harry went to the DADA classroom to talk to Remus.

"Harry, what brings you by tonight?"

"Did you hear what happened in Care of Magical Creatures today?"

"I heard something about one of the animals getting loose and attacking Malfoy, but that's just about it."

"That's not the full story. Let me tell you what really happened." Harry recounted the tale of the afternoon class. When he finished he said, "Malfoy's going to have his father make a big deal of this and try to get Hagrid sacked and Buckbeak killed. Hedwig is already on a delivery to Sirius. Can you let him know what happened? I'm sure he will be able to stop this before it gets blown out of proportion. If he wants my memory of the class for evidence I'll give it."

"That's a very generous offer, Harry, but I don't think it will come to that. I'll see what I can do to help."

"Oh, and we suggested that Hagrid talk to you about teaching subjects and some tips on how to present his material. I hope that's alright with you."

"I'm certainly willing to help Hagrid as much as I can, but it's going to have to be at his request."

"Thanks!" Harry headed back to his dormitory to pass the information along to his friends.


	30. An Act of Defiance and Repentance

**A/N: Before you flame me because Severus should know whether any member of his house was injured or in the infirmary, accept that Draco's excuse was he had gone to the Hospital Wing after breakfast.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I'm just having some fun playing with them.**

 **30\. An Act of Defiance and Repentance**

The next day was a full schedule; double potions in the morning and double DADA in the afternoon. Harry was not looking forward to dealing with Snape so soon, but it had to happen eventually. He found the same vial of nutrient potion by his plate once he sat down. Again, he gave a slight nod to the Potions Master at the Head Table. Unlike Ron, who was trying to see how many eggs, bacon and potatoes he could stuff into his mouth, Harry chose a modest portion of bacon, eggs, and toast with marmalade. He also took an apple for later. Just then the post owls entered the Great Hall. Harry looked up to see Hedwig flying to him with a message. He took the letter from her and gave her a piece of bacon. While he was reading it, Hedwig also helped herself to a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Who's it from?" asked Ron.

"Ron! If Harry wants you to know he'll tell you," scolded Hermione.

"No worries, it's from Sirius. He's still at St. Mungo's but thinks he should be released this weekend. The major thing they've found is malnutrition which he was expecting. They also want him to see a mind healer to discuss the effects of the Dementors but he can do that without having to stay at St. Mungo's. He'll let me know once he's out."

"That's really good news, Harry," said Hermione.

Harry just smiled at his friends and finished his breakfast.

Steeling himself for his first interaction with the stern Potions Professor, he joined his fellow third year Gryffindors as they made the trek to the dungeons.

The first thing that he noticed when he arrived was that Malfoy was not there. Harry hadn't noticed whether he was at breakfast or not. Promptly at nine o'clock, Professor Snape swooped in, robes billowing out behind him. He quickly took roll, noting the absence of Malfoy, then called for everyone to pass their summer homework forward. He then went into a short lecture on shrinking solutions, threatening to try Neville's out on his toad to use as an example. Harry was looking forward to actually brewing this potion since their summer homework had been on properties of both shrinking and swelling solutions and how they were both similar and different.

He quickly gathered his supplies and brought them back to his table. At that time, Malfoy decided to make an appearance with his arm in a sling.

"I apologize, Professor Snape. Madam Pomfrey just released me."

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. Please join your classmates. I believe you are familiar with the shrinking solution we are brewing today."

Harry was well into preparing his ingredients when Malfoy again interrupted the classroom, "Sir, I'll need some help slicing these daisy roots."

"Weasley, slice Mr. Malfoy's roots." Ron turned beet red and started to protest, but decided it would be in his best interest to get it over with. He grabbed another pile of daisy roots and started haphazardly cutting them up.

"Professor Snape, Weasley is mangling my daisy roots!"

"Weasley, switch roots with Mr. Malfoy." Ron was really peeved now. He'd been very precise, for a change, in slicing his own daisy roots. Now he had to attempt to salvage what he could of the ones he'd been cutting for Malfoy.

It continued for a while longer before Malfoy again interrupted, "Sir, I will also need some help skinning my shrivelfig."

"Potter, skin Mr. Malfoy's shrivelfig."

Harry looked at Malfoy, who had a grin on his face, then back at Snape and said, "No Sir."

"What did you say, Potter?" Snape asked malevolently. _How dare this insolent whelp refuse him!_

"No, Sir. Malfoy is capable of skinning his own shrivelfig."

"Potter, I have no time for this. Skin his shrivelfig. NOW."

"No sir. I have my own potion to watch. There is nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm. He can do his own."

Snape was starting to turn a bit red. "Detention tonight, Potter! Now, you may give Mr. Malfoy YOUR shrivelfig."

Harry held up his own shrivelfig which he had not yet skinned. "OK," and made to give it to Malfoy.

"SKINNED, Mr. Potter. Or are you too self-important to assist a fellow student?"

"No sir. I have no problem assisting any other student who actually needs it."

"Potter! Headmaster's office. NOW."

"Yes sir. I request the presence of Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey."

"You don't get to choose who you do or do not want. Now LEAVE."

Harry gathered up his books and left the room. As soon as he got away from the dungeons he stopped against a wall to catch his breath and stop his shaking. He knew he wasn't suppose to see the Headmaster without Professor McGonagall, Remus, or both. He went to the DADA classroom to find Remus teaching. He then went to Professor McGonagall's office and found her in. He knocked.

"Mr. Potter, aren't you suppose to be in class?"

"Yes Professor. Professor Snape sent me to the Headmaster's office."

"He did, did he? And what is your transgression?"

"I refused to skin Malfoy's shrivelfig."

"I assume you have a good reason."

"I was in Care of Magical Creatures yesterday when Malfoy received his injury. Malfoy is just trying to get sympathy and play up his injury in order to harm both Hagrid and Buckbeak."

"And you have now become a healer and can diagnose Mr. Malfoy's injury?"

" It was just a cut that wasn't real deep. Knowing everything I've been through, I know Madam Pomfrey could have it healed up in no time."

"And why, may I ask, did you come to me?"

"Sirius told me never to be alone with the Headmaster. He told me to have either you, Remus, or both with me. When Professor Snape ordered me to the Headmaster's office, I told him I'd go there on the condition that you and Remus and Madam Pomfrey join us. If I am wrong about this, then I will gladly accept any punishment Professor Snape chooses to give me."

"That is quite bold of you, Mr. Potter. It seems your godfather is already having a bad influence on you, however, in this case, I believe his caution is warranted. Shall we go and wait for Professor Snape in the Headmaster's office, then?"

Harry wasn't looking forward to the confrontation, but knew he needed to establish that he was not going to allow anyone to push him around anymore, especially where Malfoy was concerned. Professor McGonagall wrote a note to Professor Lupin to join them in the Headmaster's office when his class ended and asked a house elf to deliver it. Harry followed the stern professor to the Headmaster's office. When she got to the gargoyle she gave the password of "ice mice" and the gargoyle allowed them passage. Before they could knock, Professor Dumbledore was inviting them in.

"Minerva, Harry. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Mr. Potter had an incident in Potions class this morning and Professor Snape sent him to you."

"Is this true, Harry?"

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Might I inquire as to the nature of this incident?"

"I'd rather wait until everyone is here so we can go over it just once, if that's alright sir." This was beginning to sound like the last bit of summer already.

"Of course. Who are we waiting for, Minerva? Just Severus?"

"Mr. Potter has also requested the presence of Professor Lupin as his personal representative and Madam Pomfrey as she has information that is critical to resolving the situation. I have sent a message to Professor Lupin to join us at the conclusion of his class. I'm sure Professor Snape will join us as soon as he has dismissed his class. I believe we can call Poppy once everyone is here."

"That appears satisfactory. Now, Harry, I understand you had quite an exciting summer."

"It was a bit different, sir." Harry did not want to have this conversation so soon in the school year, but he was going to have to do something to pass the time.

"And how is your godfather?"

"He seems to be doing well, sir. He's still at St. Mungo's getting a full check up. He said he hopes to be out by the weekend."

"That is very good news, "said Professor Dumbledore, secretly thinking to himself that it was very bad news. Harry HAD to go back to the Dursleys the next summer. He had to keep him properly cowed.

Before he could go further, Snape entered the office, not even bothering to knock.

"Well at least he can follow directions enough to be here. I demand he be punished, if not expelled, for his insolence!"

"Now Severus, let's all calm down and we'll discuss this rationally. I believe our final member of this group is here." Remus knocked just as he said that and was bade to enter.

"Now it seems that we are all here, shall we begin?"

"Professor Dumbledore, I believe we need Madam Pomfrey as well. What she has to say is really important," requested Harry.

"Now you're going to let him dictate who is allowed into a meeting! This is absurd, Albus!" said Severus.

"If she can settle the dispute then I see no reason to deny her presence. Remus, if you would floo call Poppy and ask her to step through?"

Remus got up and went over to the fireplace. After a quick call, Madam Pomfrey came through, "What's this all about, Albus? Mr. Potter, please tell me you haven't injured yourself already."

"I believe we are all about to discover the need for your presence. Now, Harry, if you'll be so kind as to enlighten us all," said Professor Dumbledore.

Harry went over everything that happened beginning with the incident in Care of Magical Creatures to the present. When he got to the part about Malfoy coming into class late and with his arm in a sling, Madam Pomfrey interjected, "He did WHAT? Hagrid brought him to the Hospital Wing yesterday afternoon with a cut on his arm. After cleaning it, I healed it up. He was fully functional when he left. If he was having further problems he should have come back to see me."

Severus was getting angry now, but not necessarily at Harry. "I assure you, I will be having a discussion with Mr. Malfoy about his behavior once I leave here."

"Harry, could you please finish your story?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

Harry went through the events of today with the group then said, "I understand that I was wrong in defying Professor Snape in class, but Professor," turning to Professor Snape, "if I hadn't, would you have believed me?"

"That is not the point, Potter," Severus spat out.

"But sir, it is. I could say the sky is blue and the grass is green and you wouldn't believe me. Just once, I need you to believe me." With that, Harry sat back in his chair. Severus looked into those pleading green eyes and realized it was Lily looking back at him, not James Potter.

Professor Dumbledore said, "I do believe we have come to an agreement, then, on this issue? Harry will serve his detention with Professor Snape this evening and Professor Snape will take appropriate actions with Mr. Malfoy. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

Everyone agreed that there was nothing more and left the Headmaster's office.

"Mr. Potter, in light of this, shall we reschedule our meeting until tomorrow evening?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall."

"Harry, please come with me," requested Remus.

He knew he was in trouble with Remus, but he had to understand there was no other way to have handled it. Once they made it to the DADA office, Remus closed the door and ensured their privacy.

"I believe you know what you should have done now, Harry."

"I know I handled it all wrong, but how else could I have done it? Malfoy was taking advantage of everyone else. Somebody has to stand up to him."

"I understand your anger, but you need to learn how to manage it better. Had you come to me after class, I would have looked into the matter and taken appropriate actions. You do not have to fight everyone's battles, Harry. This is probably the one thing we are going to have the hardest time getting you to understand. You do have adults in your life you can trust now. I will be notifying Sirius of this incident. I'm not sure how he'll react considering who it was, but regardless, you can't go around challenging professors in front of the whole class. Where's the Slytherin Harry the Sorting Hat saw?"

By this time all of the fight had gone out of him. He was suddenly exhausted. Remus sensed it as well.

"I believe you have me next after lunch, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't we have lunch in my office then? I'll have a house elf bring us something."

"Ron and Hermione are going to think I've been turned into potions ingredients by now."

"I'm sure that thought passed through Severus' mind more than a few times today if what you said was the full truth."

Harry started to take exception, but Remus stopped him, "I'm not saying you changed anything, just that there are always other sides to any story."

Remus called for a house elf who quickly brought them both lunch. Harry spent more time pushing food around on his plate than eating it before Remus interrupted his thoughts, "I know you don't feel like eating right now, but you really do need to. The nutrient potions can only do so much. They are dependent on you eating a balanced diet as well. I believe we've had this discussion before."

Harry almost said he wasn't hungry, but stopped, realizing he was not going to win this battle. He didn't clear his plate but he did eat more than he would have originally. They finished about five minutes before class was due to start. Ron and Hermione were the first ones in the door.

"Harry! Are you alright mate?" Ron asked.

"I'm fine."

"Harry what happened?" asked Hermione.

"Not now, I'll talk to you later." Harry looked around as his fellow Gryffindors wandered into the room. All of them looked like they were surprised to see him in one piece. Remus stood and the room quieted immediately.

"Good afternoon. I am Professor Remus Lupin and, as Professor Dumbledore indicated at the opening feast, I will be your teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am aware that there has been certain publicity about me in recent days so before you start wondering, yes, I am a werewolf. I was bitten when I was very young, however, I did spend seven years at Hogwarts. We have taken multiple precautions to ensure no student or staff member can be harmed. If you have any concerns I would appreciate it if you would come to me and allow me to address them. We will be spending this year discussing what are classified as "dark" creatures. Werewolves are discussed during spring term. If any of you wish to read ahead, the chapter begins on page 394. Now, let me take roll and see that we have everyone here." He began checking the list, finally able to put faces with some of the names he'd heard Harry talk about.

"Now, today will be a practical lesson so you may put your books and parchment away. All you will need is your wand. If you will follow me." He led them all to the staff room. Upon entering, Professor Snape was the only teacher currently present. Seeing his domain being invaded by a group of third years, he quickly departed.

"Today's lesson is on boggarts. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?"

Hermione had her hand raised, "Hermione?"

"Nobody knows exactly what a boggart looks like. They're shape shifters. They take on the appearance of the person's worst fear."

"Correct. Ten points to Gryffindor. Boggarts like dark places to hide in. This one," pointing to the rattling wardrobe, "moved in earlier in the week. I asked the rest of the staff to leave it here so we could use it for demonstration. Nobody knows exactly what a boggart looks like because it is different for everyone. Right now it's sitting in the dark in whatever its native form is. When I let him out, he'll become whatever we are frightened of. Now this means we have a huge advantage over it. Can you tell me what that is, Harry?"

"Because there are so many of us, we'll confuse it so it won't know what shape to take."

"Correct! Another ten points to Gryffindor. It always helps to have several people around when you deal with a boggart."

Remus went on to discuss the charm used to repel a boggart, _Riddikulus_. Once everyone had practiced the charm and the wand movement, he lined them all up to have them test their mettle against the boggart. Neville was first. The room immediately quieted down when the boggart turned into an image of Professor Snape, but when the boggart changed to a combined image of Professor Snape dressed up as Neville's grandmother, the laughter roared. No one was surprised that Ron's boggart took the form of an acromantula, but once it started rolling around on roller skates, the laughter resumed. They continued down the line of students. Before Harry could have his turn at the boggart, Remus stepped in front and banished it. He gave everyone who faced the boggart five points, then dismissed the class. Harry stayed back to find out why he wasn't allowed to face it.

"Why didn't you let me try?"

"I thought your boggart would have been Voldemort and I didn't want to bring that evil presence into the room."

"But I don't even know what he looks like so how could my boggart look like him? After the Dementor, I think that's what I'd see."

"Then I apologize for my assumption, Harry. Now, why don't you join your friends. I think they are more than anxious to hear about your visit with the Headmaster."

Harry left the staff room and found Ron and Hermione waiting for him.

"OK, Harry, spill it," said Ron.

"Why don't we go over here?" indicating an empty classroom. He went through the whole scene in the Headmaster's office, including Madam Pomfrey's statement that Malfoy was completely fine when he left the Hospital Wing.

"But Harry, you know you shouldn't have talked to Professor Snape like that," admonished Hermione.

"I realize that now, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. All I could think about was that Malfoy gets away with anything he wants and it's time someone calls him on it. You saw how he looked at you when you had to give him your daisy roots, Ron.

"Yeah, he did have his 'better than you' face on, but even I wouldn't have talked back to Snape."

"Professor Snape, Ron," added Hermione.

"Well, it's all over now and I'll be going to detention with Professor Snape this evening. Why don't we go back to the tower and drop off our books before dinner? I could use a few minutes to relax."

"You can always use the time to work on your Transfiguration homework or your DADA homework," added Hermione.

Ron rolled his eyes, "We just started classes, Hermione. We've got all weekend to do it. How about a game of wizard's chess, Harry?"

"So you can properly trounce me and take your frustration over Malfoy out on me?"

"Yeah, mate."

The three teens all laughed at that. Ron was predictably predictable. They were able to play three games before it was time to go down for dinner. After missing lunch there, Harry didn't realize half of the people in the Great Hall were looking at him and talking about him until the twins came up on each side of him.

"Oh Harrikins,…"

"… We heard a rumor about you …"

"…That you put Snape in his place…"

"…..And are living to tell the tale…"

"…So please tell us…"

"…Your secret oh brave one."

Harry had to laugh at the twins' uncanny ability to complete each other's sentences.

"Don't be so sure I survived. I still have detention tonight. If I'm not back by curfew you may want to check his potions stores tomorrow." With a look of horror on their faces the twins moved back to their seats for dinner. Harry's appetite still wasn't completely back, but it was better than lunch. Once he was done (he didn't even wait for pudding) he went back to the tower to get his book bag. He went into his trunk and found his mother's journal as well as their portrait. His mother had said she wanted to have a conversation with Professor Snape. No time like the present.

Walking down to the dungeons he wondered what particularly awful job Snape would have for him to do. If he was lucky it would just be cleaning cauldrons. If he was unlucky it would be cleaning up all of the desks in the room or preparing some disgusting ingredient. All he knew is that once he resized his parents' portrait he did not want to be anywhere near the man. He looked at his watch as he approached the potion master's office. He was five minutes early. Well, better early than late. He knocked on the door.

"Enter. Well, Potter, I see you can follow some instructions."

"Sir, before we go further, I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I should have thought through a better way to show that Malfoy was no longer injured. I really meant no disrespect to you but I know it didn't seem that way."

"Did the wolf put you up to that little speech?"

"No sir. Remus made sure I knew that I did have adults in the castle that I could trust now and not to think I had to do everything by myself."

"Did he now? I believe you will find a stack of dirty cauldrons in the back of the classroom waiting for you."

"Yes sir. Before I do that, I have a couple of things for you." Harry reached into his bag and pulled out the green journal of his mother's. "This is the journal my mother wanted me to give to you. She also wanted me to bring one other thing as well." Severus looked surprised at another item for him. He was shocked when Harry reached into a pocket in his robes and pulled out a small object, tapped it with his wand and a full portrait of the elder Potters was produced. Harry moved to put it in a spot easily viewed from the professor's desk and headed into the classroom to begin his assignment, closing the door behind him. Oh how he wanted to be a fly on that wall.

Severus was a bit surprised that the brat had remembered the journal, but when he brought out the portrait of his parents he was almost speechless.

"Severus? It really is you."

"Lily?"

James interjected, "Before you two get too far, let me say what I have to say then I'll leave you alone. I suspect I can't visit the other portraits in the castle without Dumbledore knowing. Severus, I sincerely meant the apology I made in the will. I was a stupid idiot who was jealous of your friendship with Lily. I regret I wasn't able to do it before now." James nodded his head towards Severus and then walked away through a door in the portrait.

"Severus. I am so sorry I didn't accept your apology when you made it to me. I was so angry, not only at you, but of James and Sirius for what they did to you. You did nothing to deserve their treatment of you. Now, tell me about what you have been doing."

It took a few tries before Severus could get his tongue working again. James actually apologizing to him appeared to be truly heartfelt. The next thing he knew Black would as well. He quickly talked about the few years between graduating from Hogwarts and returning as a professor. He glossed over his time as a Death Eater, knowing she did not want to hear about it.

"The main thing, Sev, is that you saw your way back. You had gotten in with a bad crowd. I told you Avery and Mulciber were dangerous. Malfoy was just as conceited as James was at the time. James changed, Sev. Seeing what was happening during the war changed him. Losing his parents even before graduating hit him hard. The bigoted tripe being spouted by the Death Eaters hit too close to home. Then when we had Harry, he realized that he needed to treat people better if he was going to be a good example for him. I'd like to think you have too, but from what Harry tells me, you still hold a grudge against James. Harry is not James. He does look like him in many ways, but he's also part of me, Sev. He has a very kind heart. He cares more about his friends than himself. Have you actually talked to him? He's been living with Petunia! Can you imagine what she has done to the boy? Remus said he was going to ask you to brew the nutrient potion for him. Did you think what that meant? Petunia and that fat oaf husband of hers have been starving him! You of all people know what child abuse is!"

"Lily, please. I just found out about him living with Petunia the day the will was read. I haven't had time to have a conversation with the child. Did he tell you what he did in my classroom today?"

"I haven't spoken to him today."

"I told him to do something and he refused! He blatantly refused to follow my directions! What am I suppose to do with him when he behaves that way?"

"Please tell me the whole story, Sev, not just your side of it."

Once he was done with the story, he sat back, waiting for Lily's response.

"If James had been there he would have had Harry over his knee in a minute. I realize you can't do that. I do think you're going to have to find other detentions for him that don't involve him imitating a house elf if you want it to mean something. That includes not giving him to Filch. Hopefully Remus talked some sense into Harry."

"Evidently the wolf did have a chat with him. He came in here and apologized to me before he said anything else."

"Give him a chance, Sev. Maybe you can start fresh?"

"I find myself in a no-win situation. If I suddenly become friendly towards him, it will get back to all of the Death Eaters in hiding that I've turned into Dumbledore's puppet. If I remain the arrogant SOB that I have been, he will continue to hate me."

"He told me you have been watching out for him. You saved him in his first year. You must care for him in some way."

"The boy continues to run headlong into danger! Someone has to keep an eye on him. I care for the promise I made that I would protect your son. I will always honor that promise. Always."

"If you just explain to him why you have to act the way you do I think he will understand."

"And then go tell all of his Gryffindor friends that Professor Snape is really a Hufflepuff? I think not."

"No, one of the things Harry hates the most is for people to treat him like a puppet and he has no control over the strings being pulled. If you are honest with him and explain that you may have to act like a true bastard in class and in public then I think he can accept you better. He told us about his first day in your class. He was so looking forward to your class more than any other one. He enjoyed chemistry in muggle school and had been cooking for years. He'd even managed to come up with some recipes of his own that Petunia actually bragged about in the neighborhood. She just never told them it was Harry who made them. She told them she'd come upon an unknown chef. Then he told us what you did to him that first day and he lost all hope that his teachers at Hogwarts would treat him differently from those of his muggle school."

"I didn't know he was taking notes until the wolf told me the other evening."

"Did you even think to ask him what he was doing? You just assumed he wasn't paying attention. You know yourself those questions you asked him were unreasonable! Some of them were NEWT level questions!"

"I don't know what to say, Lily."

"Tell me you'll try to get to know Harry. You have so much you can offer him if you give him a chance."

Severus gave a short nod of acceptance, "I will try if he will."

Just then, there was a knock on his office door from the classroom. Rather than telling whomever it was to enter, he got up and went to the door. Seeing it was Potter he opened it and then quickly closed it.

"Sir, I'm done."

"I should hope you were. How many did you clean? Did you at least get half of them done?"

"No sir, I've done them all."

"There were twenty-five cauldrons back there, Potter. You mean to tell me you cleaned all of them?"

"Yes sir."

"Severus!" came Lily's voice from the portrait, "He said he did them all. If you don't believe it, go check for yourself. Don't stand there and harass him!" Harry tried to suppress a laugh. His mother ordering the dour potions master around. What was more amazing is that the man did just that. He came back a few minutes later.

"My apologies Potter. You did an acceptable job. I may have to have you teach some of the other dunderheads how to properly clean a cauldron." Harry caught the smile on his mother's face.

"Thank you sir. Is there anything else you need me to do tonight?"

"No. Be here at nine tomorrow morning. You may bring the book worm if you like. I will even tolerate the red haired menace if you must."

"Sir? I have another detention?"

"You may wish to term it that way among your other little Gryffindor friends. I thought you might like to be able to brew your own nutrient potion rather than having it appear each morning at breakfast."

Harry's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Don't look like a dog with a new bone. Didn't I just say I would let you? Do not expect me to let you even taste it unless I am convinced you brewed it exactly as it should be. If I am satisfied with your result, you may come down here on Saturday mornings to brew a week's supply. You can tell your friends you didn't get away with just the one night's detention but have it every Saturday until I am satisfied you are sufficiently repentant. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir! Absolutely!"

"Don't make me regret this. It's getting close to curfew so I suggest you head back to your dormitory."

"Yes sir. Would you like me to bring the portrait back with me?"

"Only if it is convenient for you. I would like a chance to consult with your mother about the contents of her journal at some point."

"Of course. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Professor." With that, he shrunk the portrait back down and put it back in his pocket. He hadn't see the smile on his mother's face. He left the dungeons and quickly made his way back to Gryffindor tower for the night. If anyone had seen him they'd think he'd just been to the kitchens and eaten an entire treacle tart; the grin on his face was so large.


	31. Settling In

**31\. Settling In**

Saturday morning found the trio in the dungeons working on Harry's nutrient potion. Actually, it was Hermione and Harry. Ron was more of a coach - of what not to do while brewing. Hermione finally had enough, "Ronald! If you can't follow the directions, then just sit back and watch. Harry wants to be able to drink this without poisoning himself."

"Sorry, Hermione. I thought I was helping."

"Just sit there and do what I tell you to do. This isn't like brewing polyjuice potion like last year where we had plenty of time between adding ingredients."

The last comment got Professor Snape's attention, "Did you say polyjuice, Miss Granger?" he said in a silky voice.

Hermione blushed bright red, "Uh, yes sir."

"Then perhaps you can explain about the boomslang skin and bicorn horn I discovered missing from my private stores last year. My, my. I believe I will enjoy hearing about this little adventure once you have completed the task at hand."

Knowing they'd been found out didn't help them concentrate on the potion, but once they had added the last ingredient it turned the nice shade of blue the instructions said it should.

"Professor Snape." said Harry.

"Yes Potter?"

"We've finished the potion."

"Have you now? Let me see what you three have managed to throw together." He walked over to the cauldron and looked at the potion. It was the right colour and smelled as it should. They had actually managed to brew the potion correctly the first time.

"It appears to be correct. It will need to cool for a half hour before you can bottle it up. That should be sufficient time for you to tell me about your little foray into a NEWT potion. Tell me, Miss Granger, where did you find the instructions for polyjuice potion?"

"I looked it up in _Moste Potente Potions_ as you had told us in class, sir."

"I believe that book is in the Restricted Section. What professor did you get to authorize you access to the Restricted Section or did you even get authorization?"

"Professor Lockhart, sir."

Severus rolled his eyes, "That figures. And just what did you need polyjuice potion for Mr. Potter?"

"Well, sir, everyone was calling me the Heir of Slytherin. Malfoy kept spouting off about it and pretending he knew all about how the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before so we needed to find out if he was the Heir of Slytherin."

"Since I know you didn't brew that in the dungeons, where was your illegal potions laboratory?"

"We used the second floor girl's restroom. Nobody goes in there because of Moaning Myrtle," replied Harry.

"You mean to tell me that three second year students brewed a NEWT level potion illicitly in an empty girls bathroom and nobody noticed?"

Three heads were nodding at him.

"Were you able to accomplish your mission?"

Three heads again nodded at him.

"Who, may I ask, did you use for your ruse?"

"Crabbe and Goyle," said Harry. Ron hadn't found his voice yet.

"Are you telling me that Miss Granger was too good to test out her own potion?"

Hermione answered, "No sir. I did try it out. There was an error in the hair I'd gotten from Millicent Bulstrode."

"If you didn't turn into Miss Bulstrode then who or should I say, what, did you turn into?"

"A cat. More specifically her cat."

"And I never heard about this? There actually is an antidote for that potion but only a few people are aware of it. Otherwise it takes about three weeks for this to resolve itself."

"Yes, sir. I was in the Hospital Wing for three weeks right after Christmas if you'll remember."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. How did these three manage to get into so many things they had no business knowing about?

"So you two gentlemen turned into Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle. What did you do with the real ones?"

"Put them in a broom closet," said Ron.

"I'm sure they didn't go willingly Mr. Weasley."

"Uh, no sir. They were taking a short nap."

"Miss Granger would you please explain what happened as I'm sure you were responsible for that little nap."

"Well I brewed a small batch of Elixir of Dreams and then filled two small chocolate cakes with it. Harry and Ron made sure they saw them and ate them. Once they were asleep they put them in a nearby broom closet."

"And what was your goal for this little foray?"

"We went to the Slytherin Common Room to talk to Malfoy and find out what he knew about the Heir of Slytherin," said Harry.

This was getting too far out of hand, "So you two were in MY common room posing as two of MY students? How long did this little charade last?"

"About forty-five minutes. We noticed the potion was wearing off so we left rather quickly."

After thinking back over the events of that part of the year, Severus finally realized what had happened, "Which of you three are responsible for the firecracker in Mr. Goyle's cauldron?"

Harry answered meekly, "Me sir."

"If you weren't already going to be here for the next several Saturdays I would be giving you detention until you graduate for that stunt. All three of you!"

The three nodded their heads guiltily.

"I don't think I want to know any more. Bottle up your potion and clean your work station. You are dismissed."

The three hurried back to the Gryffindor Common Room thankful they did not receive any further punishment. Well, at least not yet. Harry took his potion vials to his room and put them in his trunk. Harry and Ron played a couple of games of Wizard's Chess before they all went down for lunch. After lunch Harry said he was going to work on his Transfiguration homework so it didn't get left for the last minute. Ron wasn't happy about that but Hermione gave him a small smile.

Once they all settled into their afternoon, Harry read the passage that pertained to the subject of the essay. Remembering Sirius discussing this with him when they were working on his power, he went back upstairs and pulled one of the books he'd gotten from the Potter libraries out of his trunk for additional reference. Of course, having an additional book caught Hermione's eye right away.

"What's that you've got, Harry?"

"Just a book Remus gave me from Potter Hall. I was using it for reference when I was doing my summer homework. There was a passage in here I wanted to check out."

"May I see it when you're done?"

"Sure."

Harry went back to scratching out his essay. After spending a full two hours on the task he was done. Hermione was still deep into books and parchment. Seeing that she wouldn't be done for a while, Harry challenged Ron to a game of Exploding Snap. Neville was down at the greenhouses so he wasn't available to play, but Ginny was there so the three of them played. Soon it was time for dinner and they could call the day done.

Harry still had his meeting with Professor McGonagall that evening. He went back up to the dorm to get the portrait of his parents to take with him. Considering how it had startled Snape, he wasn't sure what it would do to the stern professor. He knocked on her office door and was bade entrance.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter."

"Professor."

"I was wondering if you would mind discussing a few of the issues that were brought up at the reading of your parents' will as well as some of the information Professor Lupin shared with me last week."

"Yes Professor. But if I may ask, can you put up a silencing ward?"

Startled by the request, but understanding after Remus' discussion with them in a room with no portraits, she realized why he asked. A few quick waves of her wand and they were now ensconced in a bubble of quiet. The portrait of Godric Gryffindor was not happy, but considering it was one of his lions, he decided to go visit his friend Salazar in the dungeons.

"I knew you were living with your aunt and uncle; I was with Professor Dumbledore when he placed you there. I had watched them all day and was not happy with what I saw. I told Professor Dumbledore this, but he said it was the best place for you because of your mother's sacrifice. I must apologize to you for never checking up on you further. I briefly met your aunt once when I delivered your mother's Hogwarts letter. That one encounter did not give me any reason to think she would be unkind to you so many years later."

"I understand. It seems a lot of people didn't know what to expect and didn't bother to find out later," Harry said bitterly.

"Yes, and for that I must apologize to you, Mr. Potter, Harry. I hope that we can find you a suitable place to live after this school year."

Harry nodded his head, "Sirius said I could talk freely with you Professor. And I also brought a bit of a surprise as well, if you don't mind."

"Surprise? Please go on."

Harry brought the portrait of his parents out and enlarged it. Surprise was too mild of a word to explain the look on Minerva McGonagall's face.

"Lily! James! How…"

"Hello Minerva," said James, "We had this portrait done before we went into hiding just in case something went wrong and hid it in the Potter vault. No one knew it had been done until Harry accessed the vault."

"Minerva, it's so good to see you," said Lily.

"It is so good to see you both. I must also apologize for having failed your son."

Lily answered for them both, "We don't blame you. We know that Dumbledore arranged things to suit himself. The main thing is that you are now there to take care of Harry as we had hoped you would."

Minerva was overcome by the faith the couple had put in her. Then she remembered what Harry had told her after class and turned on James, "James Potter! Just what stories have you been telling your son about me? About the faculty?"

James laughed, "Just the one story. After learning that Harry had very few stories about us, especially at Hogwarts, we spent an evening just telling him about some of the things we did. We also told him that if he ever thought about copying our actions you would haul him up to the top of Gryffindor Tower and turn him into a gargoyle!"

"I think taking away his broom would be quite sufficient," said Lily.

"Mum! You don't need to give Professor McGonagall any ideas!"

"Yes, I would hate to have the Quidditch team handicapped by your son's misdeeds," giving a stern glare to the boy.

"What I want to know is how you got around the 'no first years on quidditch teams' edict," said James.

"One just has to know the right buttons to push, James. However, if your son dares to pull a stunt like he did that first flying lesson he may very well find himself grounded."

"So catching the snitch in his mouth doesn't warrant being grounded?" asked Lily.

"That was an unusual circumstance and was not Harry's fault."

They continued the discussion for another hour, then Professor McGonagall sent Harry to the Tower so that he was not out after curfew. After he left, she sat and thought about the discussion she had just had. She was comforted by the thought that James and Lily did not hold her lack of interest in Harry's life against her. She knew she had failed all three of them, but it appeared that she was only one of many victims in a certain Headmaster's grand plan.

Sunday was another sunny day. During breakfast, Harry got a letter from Sirius. Seeing that it was his personal owl, Harry looked forward to reading it. Apparently he was now out of St. Mungo's with instructions for his potions regimen and weekly appointments with the mind healer. His plans for the week were to ensure his wardrobe was updated and then to spend some time at Black Hall to see just what kind of shape it was in. He also had an appointment with Gerald Howe to complete the guardianship paperwork for Harry.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Ron.

"Sirius is out of St. Mungo's! He's going to see Mr. Howe this week about filing the guardianship paperwork with the Ministry."

"Oh Harry, that will be so good for you," said Hermione. The smile that came to Harry's face was genuine. One of the few his friends had ever seen.

Oliver Wood stopped by while he was eating too, "Hey Harry. We're going to have a short Quidditch practice this afternoon at two. With everyone back from last year's team we don't need to have try outs."

"Sure Oliver. See you then."

Breakfast over, the three teens decided to visit Hagrid. On the way down they stopped by the lake to toss some leftover toast to the giant squid. He was out near the center of the lake lounging in the sun, but quickly swam over when he thought a treat might be had.

Hagrid was out in the paddock with several of the hippogriffs from Friday's lesson. He was tossing what looked to be more dead ferrets to them. Staying on the outside, they waited until Hagrid noticed them. They definitely didn't want to distract him from his work.

"Hullo Harry, Hermione, Ron!"

"Hi Hagrid. How are the hippogriffs today?" asked Harry.

"Fine, fine. I was just out here checkin on 'em. Sure you don't want another ride, Harry?"

"No, I think I had enough on Friday."

"Give me a minute and I'll be out."

While Hagrid had his attention on the others, Buckbeak came over near the fence where the three were standing. Hermione punched Harry on the arm, "Look! I think Buckbeak likes you Harry."

Harry watched the hippogriff closely. When it was still a few feet away, Harry made a low bow while keeping his eyes on the beast. Buckbeak slowly bowed himself then came over to where Harry and his friends were standing. Harry reached out and started stroking Buckbeak's beak.

"Hello Buckbeak. Are you having a good day?"

The hippogriff seemed to nod at that question.

"Would it be alright if my friends patted you too?"

Again there was a subtle nod. With that, Hermione went to the other side and began to stroke the hippogriff's beak. By this time Hagrid had looked up to see where Buckbeak had gotten off to.

"Be careful you three!"

"We're fine Hagrid. Buckbeak just needed a beak scratching," said Harry.

"Well I'll be. I've never seen a hippogriff do that. I think he likes you Harry."

"Buckbeak, would you like your neck feathers scratched?"

Buckbeak came closer to the fence and lowered his head so Harry could reach his neck. He took his time giving long slow strokes to the animal's neck. Hagrid watched in amazement.

"Looks like Buckbeak's taken a shine to ye Harry. Sure you don't want ter ride him?"

"Not today. But he is a beautiful animal."

With that, Hagrid let himself out of the paddock. "How about a cuppa tea?"

"That would be great Hagrid, if it's no trouble to you," said Hermione.

"Oh no trouble. No trouble 'tall."

Harry gave Buckbeak one more stroke then told the animal he'd come back to see him again soon. They all went into Hagrid's hut and waited while he put the kettle on. They were able to avoid taking one of the offered rock cakes. They spent the next hour catching up on what they had done over the summer. Hagrid was interested in Ron's trip to Egypt and any animals he might have run into.

"Yeah, they used these strange creatures to travel around in the desert. They had this long square nose. Some of them had a lump in their back and others had two."

Hermione laughed, "Those are camels, Ron. Muggles use them for transportation in the desert. They can go without water for days and have no problems walking in the fine sand."

"Oh. Well, they looked weird."

"I'll hafta check those out," said Hagrid.

"They wouldn't fare well in this climate, Hagrid. They're used to heat."

"Still, they sound intrsting."

As they headed back to the castle, Harry said he was going to see if Remus was in and if he'd talked to Sirius. He asked if his friends wanted to join him, but they decided to go on up to Gryffindor Tower for a bit.

Harry knocked on the DADA professor's door and was told to enter.

"Harry. How are you doing? How was your detention Friday night?"

"I think mum may have told the Professor off," Harry said with a snicker.

"It is quite possible. What did you do while they were talking?"

"Scrubbed cauldrons. Snape didn't think I could have cleaned all of them in the time I did but he's never lived with the Dursleys. Those are simple compared to some of the messes I had to clean up there."

Remus winced at the reminder of Harry's life with the Dursleys. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, then he had Hermione, Ron and I come down on Saturday morning to make my nutrient potion."

"It went well until Hermione slipped up and said something about polyjuice potion. Then we had to explain it all to Snape. He wasn't too pleased about it."

"Professor Snape, Harry, and I wouldn't think he would be."

"Yeah, he said if he'd known about it last year he'd have put us all in detention every Saturday until we graduated."

"I take it the potion brewing went well."

"Yeah, although Ron wasn't that big of a help. We'll have to find something he can do to help where he won't be able to mess things up."

"I'm sure you and Hermione can work something out."

"Have you heard from Sirius?"

"I got a quick note from him this morning letting me know he was out of St. Mungo's but I haven't spoken with him yet. I'll try to arrange for a visit with him in Hogsmeade next weekend."

"Will I be able to go?"

"I don't know. Once he has full guardianship it will be possible, but unless it's a Hogsmeade weekend there might be a problem. I don't think we want to ask for special permission to leave the castle until that has been finalized."

"Oh. Right."

"So what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Oliver's called a Quidditch practice at two. You ought to come and watch."

"I was never much of a Quidditch fan, but perhaps I'll come. I know Sirius will be happy to come to your games and watch. Now, why don't you run along to lunch. You'll need to keep up your strength for practice."

Harry caught up with his friends at lunch. Hermione was going to go to the library for the afternoon. Ron wasn't sure what he was going to do. Neville was going back to the greenhouses. Everyone was scattering as they usually did during the school term. Things were getting back to normal.

After listening to Oliver talk plans and strategies for an hour, they finally got up in the air. Harry was glad he'd been able to fly at least one day while term was out. Having a pitch at Potter Manor was going to come in very handy in the future. While the chasers and beaters were flying around in an orchestrated madness, Harry circled the pitch looking for the snitch. He'd been up about twenty minutes when he caught a glint of gold near the bottom of the center hoop. Harry dove down for the chase. Keeping his eye on the snitch, Harry automatically leveled out just above the ground while his hand closed around the elusive ball. Holding it up in the air, he signaled to Oliver that he had accomplished his assigned task. After Harry got back into position, Oliver released it again. After catching it a total of five times, Oliver called practice for the day. Harry saw Remus getting up from the stands and walked over smiling.

"So, will you be rooting for Gryffindor this year?"

"As you know, professors are suppose to be neutral. Well, other than the Heads of Houses who are suppose to cheer for their house's team. I must say I like the chances of Gryffindor this year assuming their seeker doesn't kill himself in one of his crash dives. I thought I was going to have a heart attack on your first catch."

"That's nothing. Remember the first game I ever played I caught the snitch in my mouth!"

"That does not make me feel any better, cub."

They parted at the Entrance Hall. Remus headed back to his office while Harry headed back to Gryffindor Tower to clean up before dinner.

In London, Sirius was taking stock of his possessions at Potter Hall to determine what changes he needed to make. He needed to have the Black crest placed on all of his robes, but first he needed to see what fit and what didn't. Dobby could handle that task easily. He made a list of things he needed to do in the coming week:

1\. Contact Gerald Howe to get the guardianship paperwork for Harry done.

2\. Visit Grimmauld Place and see what shape it was in. See if Kreacher is still alive. Begin cleaning it up. Determine what dark artifacts he would need to have the goblins dispose for him.

3\. Contact Amelia Bones about the investigation into the Dursleys.

4\. Contact the goblins about plans to harvest the basilisk at Hogwarts. Find out if they have made any further progress on determining how to remove the horcrux in Harry.

5\. Set up meeting with Dumbledore, Minerva and Remus about Harry, but not until he has sole guardianship of Harry.

6\. Check with the Floo Network to be sure that Grimmauld Place was still on it.

7\. Check with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts about Buckbeak.

That should be enough to keep him busy for a while. He pulled out parchment and quill to draft the letter to Gerald. That had the highest priority for the moment. Once he had full guardianship, he could begin to unravel the Headmaster's hold on his godson.

In the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was pondering the latest turn of events. Sirius Black was now a free man. It was only a matter of time before he petitioned to gain guardianship of Harry. He could try to delay the action by saying Sirius needed more time to heal after all those years in Azkaban, but that would bring up the fact that he was one of the reasons Sirius had spent all of those years there. There was public sympathy for Harry having had to face the real betrayer of his parents and now having a godfather who was free to take him in. Minerva and Severus were on record to be against Harry staying any longer with the Dursleys. Apparently something had happened in the reading of the will to place them firmly on the boy's side. Severus would have never stood for Harry's blatant disrespect any other way. Better to watch and wait to see how events further unfold before taking any more action. Albus reached into the ever-present tin of lemon drops and plucked one out. Yes, he would have to think further about his plans.

By the time Friday came around again Harry was exhausted. He'd now been in all of his classes for the term, turned in all of his summer homework and met his new Runes instructor, Professor Babbling. This was going to be a class different from all of his others. Runes required a lot of book knowledge but it also required magical power to activate certain rune chains. Based on Ron's discussions of Divination, he was quite happy to be out of that class. He'd gotten his summer homework back from both Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Professor McGonagall had given him an Outstanding while Professor Snape had given him an Acceptable. Coming from Professor Snape that was high praise. Now he had "detention" with him in a few minutes then Quidditch practice in the afternoon.

Ron had decided to pass on going to the dungeons with Harry and Hermione. Twice a week sitting in the dungeon was quite enough for him, thank you very much. Harry brought the empty vials back with him. No need to dirty up any more vials when he could clean these out and reuse them. He quickly took care of this while Hermione began setting up their workstation.

Severus Snape surveyed the scene in his classroom. He immediately noticed that Weasley was absent. He wondered whether it was at the request of Potter or Granger or if he'd decided not to spend any more time in the dungeons. Potter had taken out the used vials and set about cleaning them and setting them to dry; Granger had begun gathering the items needed to prepare the potion. By the time Potter had completed his task, Granger was ready to begin. Potter began to prepare the ingredients while Granger started the cauldron. This was a very good system between the two Gryffindors, Severus observed. Apparently their foray into polyjuice potion had given them a bit of a rhythm between them. Satisfied they were not about to blow up his classroom, he retired to his office to grade more summer homework essays.

About an hour later there was a knock at his door.

"Professor, we've finished the potion if you'd like to take a look at it," said Harry.

Severus walked to the classroom and peered into the lone cauldron simmering on a work table. He noted the colour was exactly as it should be. Last week's had been acceptable but this was virtually perfect. Giving them a nod he told them to let it cool and then they could bottle it up.

"Potter, a moment of your time."

Harry followed the man into his office.

"Potter, has Lupin discussed with you anything he discussed with Professor McGonagall and myself before term started?"

"No sir, he just said he was going to talk to you and also have Professor McGonagall talk with Professor Flitwick about the magical binding."

"He also scanned both of us for any charms placed on us. Apparently there was an aversion charm placed on me. Mine was to hate anyone named Potter. It was placed when we were all in school. It has now been released. Unfortunately, I cannot just change completely and show that I now like you. First it would let the Headmaster know the charm had been removed. The other reason is that during the first war, I was a spy for the Light. I am a marked follower of the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord thought that I was spying for him on the Light. There are quite a few students here whose parents sided for the Dark during the war and know of my supposed allegiance. Albus is certain that the Dark Lord will return. Assuming he does, I will need to resume my position as spy. Your summer homework grade was an Acceptable. This was so anyone who saw your homework would see that grade. In the official records, your grade is an Outstanding. That is the best effort you have made in my class, Potter. I expect to see it continue. Do you understand what I have been telling you?"

"I believe so, sir. I should expect you to still treat me like you hate me and my father, but you don't really mean it. Did I get that right?"

"If you wish to be so blunt. What I will do is make a copy of any work you turn in and give it to Lupin with your correct grade. Will this be acceptable to you?"

"Absolutely! I understand now why you have to do what you do. I'll try not to take it personally, but I can't guarantee it."

"Understand that if you EVER repeat a stunt like you did during your first class you will rue the day you ever set foot in my classroom. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"You may bottle your potion now."

"Thank you. Would you like me to bring down my parents' portrait next week when we come?"

"Only if it would not be an inconvenience for you."

Taking that as permission to be dismissed, Harry went back into the classroom with Hermione. They quickly bottled the potion and cleaned up their workstation. Hermione had shot him a quizzical look when he returned but he shook his head. He needed to tell her this in a more private setting. Instead of going straight back to Gryffindor Tower Harry guided them to Remus' office. Harry knocked and waited for Remus to invite them in.

"Harry, Hermione, what do I owe the pleasureof this visit?"

"Could you put up some privacy wards please?" asked Harry.

Remus was concerned about what Harry had to say that required such secrecy but did as requested.

"Now will you tell me what you and Professor Snape were discussing?" asked Hermione.

"Yes. Remus is already aware of some of this. Remember when I told you about all of the charms Dumbledore placed on me?"

"Yes, but you said they had been taken off."

"They have. However, Remus checked Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall earlier."

Hermione gasped as she took in the full impact of that statement, "And he had one on himself?"

"Yes. He said it was an aversion charm for anyone named Potter, although it had been placed long before I was born."

"Although James and Severus became antagonists from the time they met on the Hogwarts Express, it got worse during our second year and continued to worsen as the years progressed. I wonder if he had placed one on James or Sirius as well. I should let Padfoot know to have the goblins check him out," said Remus.

"But that's terrible Harry! And what about Professor McGonagall?"

"I don't know Hermione. He didn't tell me and I don't think it's something we should ask her. If it's important I think she'd tell us."

"Correct, Harry. I don't believe it is pertinent to your situation," added Remus.

"So what did Professor Snape say?"

"He explained to me about his role as a spy and his need to maintain that appearance even with the war being over. Anything I turn in that he would hand back in class will have a fake grade on it. He's going to give you a copy, Remus, with the real grade on it for me. I got an Outstanding on my summer homework." Harry grinned widely.

Both Hermione and Remus smiled at that. They both knew Harry needed the positive feedback. After a few more minutes of discussion, Remus removed the wards and the duo departed, heading to the Great Hall for lunch instead of Gryffindor Tower.


	32. Sirius Business

**A/N: I've tried to avoid the obvious puns so far, but I had to have one!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters involved.**

32\. Sirius Business

Sirius quickly made his way to Gerald Howe's office. All of his robes now wore the House of Black crest. He still got stares as he walked through Diagon Alley, but he suspected that would last for quite a while until the majority of wizards and witches accepted him back into society. He entered Gerald's offices.

"Lord Black, it's good to see you again. Is there anything I can get you? Tea, Coffee?"

"No, thank you. May I ask your name?"

"Rosemary Wallace."

"Well, Rosemary, please call me Sirius. I'm still getting used to the whole Lord Black concept."

"Certainly. Let me see if Mr. Howe is ready for you." With that she ducked into Gerald's private office to let him know his appointment had arrived.

"Sirius! Good to see you again."

"You too, Gerald."

"Come in, come in!"

Sirius entered the office and sat at a chair in the sitting area.

"What can I help you with today?"

"I'd like to go ahead and start the process to become Harry's guardian. I need to get that going before Dumbledore sticks his beard in things any further. Remus checked Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape and found charms on both of them placed by the meddling old coot. Snape had one to automatically hate anyone named Potter. No wonder Harry's had such problems in Potions."

"I've been checking into the process. You can apply for temporary guardianship to begin with. That is very easy to get through the bureaucracy quickly. Since you've already got a contact in Wizard Family Services it should go much smoother. You may want to wait for permanent guardianship until after they have taken whatever action they plan to take with the Dursleys. Getting them out of the picture will help tremendously."

"Whatever you think is best. Did Remus give you the contact at WFS?"

"Yes, Candace Williams is working from the WFS side. I haven't had much contact in my practice with them, but if Amelia is comfortable with her then I'm sure she is the right person to have on this case. I think it would be good to set up a meeting between you two. Have the goblins sent you a full transcript of James' and Lily's will?"

"Yes. I brought it with me for you to review." Sirius pulled the document in question from an inside pocket and handed it to the man. He took a quick look at it before handing it back to Sirius.

"Did anything in here surprise you?"

"Not really, well other than the bequest to Snape, but he had been friends with Lily before they came to Hogwarts so I guess it makes some sense."

"May I make a copy of it? I'd like to be able to file it with your petition for guardianship." Sirius nodded and Gerald made a quick copy, handing the original back to Sirius. I'll also check with the documents repository at the Ministry to see about the copy they are suppose to have on file."

"According to Remus, it was sealed by Dumbledore two days after they were killed."

"Well, well, something else we can add to the Chief Warlock's list of misdeeds. I think I will enjoy putting that case together."

"Yes, it should prove interesting. I need to talk to Augusta Longbottom and see if there is anything special I need to do to reclaim the Black seat on the Wizengamot too. I should just need to notify the clerk of my intentions. Then I'll be able to keep a closer eye on Dumbledore."

"Is there anything else you need me to do immediately?"

"Not that I can think of. I would also like to place you on retainer as the Black family solicitor. I do not know who currently has that dubious distinction but whomever it was hasn't done anything for the family that I can tell. If they had, they would have checked on me before I was sent to Azkaban."

"I suspect it is Cornfoot, Greengrass and Parkinson. They handle Lucius Malfoy's affairs. I'll be happy to look into this for you and take the necessary steps. If you'd just sign this document authorizing me to act on your behalf, I'll take care of it straightaway." With that done, Sirius departed to continue down his list of tasks. His next stop was Gringotts.

After asking to see Griphook, he was led to his office.

"How may I help you, Lord Black?"

"Griphook, thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I have come on behalf of Harry Potter, my godson. He asked me to enquire about your progress in securing a team to harvest the basilisk."

"We have a team available to do this task in two weeks' time. I cannot discuss the terms of our proposal with you at this time as you do not have permission to act on Mr. Potter's behalf. I will contact Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin to determine a time that will be suitable for them."

"Of course, Griphook, I understand about the required permission. I did not mean to interfere in your management of Harry's account. With him now at Hogwarts, it is difficult for him to handle some of these tasks. I will not interfere further until we are able to get the appropriate permissions. Forgive me for this intrusion. May your gold flow and profits grow." With that, Sirius got up and exited the goblin's office. Interfering with an account with the goblins without the appropriate permissions could land you in a situation you might not be able to get out of. At least he put the idea of a timeline in the goblin's head. The horcrux question would have to wait.

With those tasks complete for now, he went back to Potter Hall to take care of some correspondence he needed to handle. His first letter was to Amelia Bones to set up an appointment with her to see what progress the Ministry had made in Harry's case against the Dursleys. He didn't feel comfortable going directly to WFS until the guardianship question had been resolved. He'd also send a note to Remus telling him about his visit with Griphook. He needed to find an easier way to communicate with him as owl post could sometimes take too long. Remus had made a set of two-way mirrors for them at Hogwarts so James and Sirius could talk to each other when in separate detentions. Maybe he could make a set for the three of them. Once he'd completed these tasks he had dinner. His final task of the day needed to be taken care of at night. At least the first visit.

"Master Doggie! Dinner be ready."

"Coming Dobby." Then the idea struck him. He could use Dobby to take messages back and forth to Hogwarts. If he could get through the wards last year to hurt Harry, he must be able to get through them whenever he needed to. Something else Dumbledore should know about. Once he was through with dinner he asked Dobby about taking a letter to Remus for him.

"Can you still get into Hogwarts, Dobby?"

"Of course, Master Doggie. Hogwarts' wards allow elves in."

"You mean anybody's house elf can go in and out of Hogwarts at will?"

"Yes Master Doggie." Sirius shook his head at that. With all of the pureblood families represented there, there could be elves popping in and out of the castle at any time.

"Would you take letters to Remus and Harry for me?"

"Yes Master Doggie. Dobby is happy to take a letter to Harry and Master Wolfie."

"Give me a few minutes and I'll have them ready for you." Sirius went back to the library and penned letters to both wizards. He told Remus about his trip to Gringotts and about the problem with the wards allowing elves unfettered access. He also asked about the communication mirrors. The letter to Harry was a bit less detailed. He was waiting to hear how he'd done on his summer homework and how he liked his new classes. He was going to check with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to see if anything had been filed against Buckbeak. Was he having any problems controlling his magic? If he heard Harry had let his temper get the better of him again, even if it was Snape, he'd lose his Hogsmeade privileges among other things.

"Dobby."

"Yes Master Doggie."

"While you are gone, I'm going over to Number 12, Grimmauld Place to see what kind of shape it's in. There was an elf there, but I don't know what shape he may be in. I may be needing your help cleaning it up."

Dobby bounced up and down, "Of course Master Doggie! Dobby be happy to help clean up nasty bad house." He took the two letters from Sirius and popped out. Sirius went into the back garden to apparate to Grimmauld Place. With the darkness, he wouldn't be seen as easily. Once in the park across the street from his childhood home, he quickly checked for traffic before crossing the street. He placed his hand on the door, hoping the wards would recognize the Head of House ring and allow him access. Feeling a tingle of magic as the wards shifted to accept him, he then heard the click of the lock. Entering into the hallway on the ground floor, he could see and smell the signs of disuse. If he had to use one word to describe it he would use 'musty'.

Waving his wand, he brought the lights up. Everywhere he looked he saw dirt and grime. What had that elf been doing? Only one way to find out.

"Kreacher!"

An ancient house elf popped in front of him. It had wrinkled skin and white hair growing out of its ears; it was wearing just a loincloth around its middle.

"Someone called Kreacher?"

"Kreacher, you have pledged your life to serve the House of Black. I am now the Lord of the House. I ask if you will serve me as you have served my family before me?"

The elf suddenly realized who was speaking to him, bowed low "Master Sirius. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

"That's not what I asked. Will you serve ME as the Lord of the House? Because if you will not, you may as well cut your head off now and stick it on the wall."

The little elf's eyes grew wide at the implication of that statement.

"Kreacher will serve the new master of the House."

"Good. Now, show me the house. We need to get it habitable as I intend to live here as soon as it is."

Kreacher took him first to the dining room and then to the first floor. As they were going up the stairs, Sirius tripped over something laying across the top step causing a loud boom. The next thing he heard was " _Filthy swine. Blood traitors! Scum! Who dares disturb my rest_?" Sirius looked at the wall on his left only to find a large portrait of his mother.

"Mother, how nice to see you again," Sirius sneered.

"You! Blood traitor! Bane of my flesh. You dare show yourself in this house! I should have drowned you at birth."

"Good to see you haven't changed in all these years. Now, before you keep going, tell me if you recognize this." Sirius held up his hand with the House of Black ring.

"You are the Lord of the House of Black? Senile old man, Arcturus! It should have been poor Regulus."

"Evidently Arcturus had more sense than you give him credit for. Well, at least more sense than you and my dear departed father. I will give you one chance. Will you support the Lord of the House of Black or not?"

"And if I refuse?"

"I will blast your portrait off the wall just like you blasted me off the family tree and you will be lost to history forever."

"If I agree."

"I will use your counsel in my handling of the Black affairs. I will allow you to assist in training my godson, Harry Potter, in how to conduct himself as the Head of an Ancient and Most Noble family."

"Harry Potter is your godson? How have I not heard about this?"

'You're dead, remember? Nobody has been in this house since you died."

"Very well. I agree."

Up in another room, the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black was listening to the conversation below him. So there is a new Lord of the House. Albus would be interested in hearing this, especially since he claims to be the godfather of Harry Potter. He quickly left his portrait in Grimmauld Place for his portrait in the Headmaster's office.

Sirius continued his walk to the drawing room. It was dirty and grimy. The Black family tree on the wall was barely readable. The draperies were teeming with doxies.

"Kreacher, just what have you been doing since my mother died? This house is unfit for anyone to live in."

"Kreacher is sorry Master. Kreacher was only trying to keep his Mistress happy. Kreacher will punish himself for his error."

"No. Do not punish yourself. I want you to clean this place completely. It needs to be fit to represent the House of Black. It's worse than even a common muggle's house! And you! You aren't fit to serve the House of Black. Look at yourself. Where is your Black Family towel?"

Those words really hit the little elf hard. "Kreacher did what his Mistress told him to do. Kreacher will do what Master Sirius requires."

"The first thing I want you to do is to clean yourself up and present yourself as a member of the House of Black. Then I want you to clean up this house. If you need help, I have another elf who can assist you."

"Oh no, Master! Master not needs to replace Kreacher. Kreacher lives to serve the House of Black."

"He would not replace you, only help you. Dobby is currently the Potter elf, but as he's away at school he has time he can spare."

"Master Lucius's Dobby? But he's a disgraced elf. He is not fit to serve the House of Black."

"Dobby is now in the service of the House of Potter. He is no longer disgraced."

"Kreacher needs no help."

"Good. Now, if you need anything, especially food, you have access to the Black household vault if you need it. I am staying at Potter Hall. If there is anything you can think of that you need I want you to let me know immediately. I will come back in two days to see what progress you have made."

"Yes Master."

Knowing it was useless to check out the rest of the house until it was cleaner, he took his leave.

Happy to be back at Potter Hall, he quickly went into the bathroom to clean the grime off of himself. Putting on his dressing gown he went into the library to see what else he needed to do. Sitting on the desk were letters from both Remus and Harry. He opened Harry's first:

 _Hi Sirius!_

 _Who'd have thought about elf mail? I think it's brilliant! I'll try not to abuse it unless I have something I really need to get to you. Dobby said he's happy to have you there and that you're treating him well._

 _As for my summer homework. I got all Outstandings! Well, Snape gave me an Acceptable, but that was just for show. He's giving my real homework grades to Remus to give to me. He's still a right git in class, but if I get him alone he's almost tolerable. I have "detention" every Saturday morning, but what I'm really doing is making my nutrient potion for the week. Hermione's going with me so we get it done faster. I took my parents' portrait down with me the first night and I guess Mum gave him what for about his treatment of me. He's explained why he has to continue to act like he hates me in public. I don't know if we'll ever become good mates, but it's a bit easier now. As for what I did, well, I'm not sorry I did it, but I've apologized to him. I think if I try something like that again there will be a line to make sure I regret it._

 _I really like Ancient Runes. It's totally different from any of my other classes. There's just so much you can do with them that general spells can't do easily. I'm so glad I'm taking it instead of Divination. Ron said that even though I wasn't in there, Professor Trelawney predicted my death. What a fake! Somebody needs to talk to Hermione. She says she's taking everything they're offering, but I don't see how she can since some of them are offered at the same time as other classes. The first day back she was scheduled for Divination, Muggle Studies and Arithmancy all at the same time. She's driving herself nuts. And why does she want to take Muggle Studies anyway? She could probably teach the class!_

 _Oh, other than the first day in Transfiguration I haven't had too much trouble with my magic. I made the mistake of doing the task right the first time. Professor McGonagall talked to me and I'm watching out. I made sure to mess up a couple of times in Charms before I got the first one there too. Professor Flitwick seemed to know what I was doing._

 _Thanks for looking into Buckbeak for me. We went down to visit Hagrid on Saturday and he came right up to me. I just had to call Malfoy out on his lie. He's gotten away with so much over the past two years that it's time somebody stood up to him._

 _I've asked Hermione and Ginny for some suggested names for your owl. I found Hedwig's name in the History of Magic text and Ginny named Pig for Ron. She's a hawk owl so we'll go from there._

 _Well, I've got Astronomy tonight so I'd better go finish up the rest of my homework. Why do we have to have it at midnight? Couldn't we see the stars just as well at nine?_

 _Harry_

Harry had a good point; one that was made pretty much every year since he was at Hogwarts. Something about midnight being the best time to view the planets and stars. He'd have to check up on Hermione. There was no good reason for a witch of her intelligence to take Divination or Muggle Studies. She could probably take the OWL for it today and pass. Maybe he should check and see if both Hermione and Harry could take that OWL in the summer and get that out of the way. Now to see what Remus had to say.

 _Padfoot,_

 _Classes are going well. I taught the third years about boggarts. Harry wasn't happy with me that I didn't let him face it, but I was so sure his would be Voldemort that I didn't want to scare the rest of the class. If I find another one I'll give him a chance. My OWL and NEWT classes are woefully unprepared. I'm having to develop a separate syllabus for them to ensure they know what they need to pass their exams._

 _I'd forgotten all about the communication mirrors we had used. I'll see what I can do to make up a set. I'd only made them for two way communication, so I'm not sure what modifications I'd need to make for three way unless you don't mind having two mirrors; one for Harry and one for me._

 _I'll send a letter to Griphook tonight telling him that you are authorized to act on Harry's behalf. Since you hadn't been cleared before I left, I couldn't do it without arousing suspicion. I think it will be the greatest prank ever to have the goblins come in and tell Albus they're here to take away the basilisk. We'll need to do it over a weekend so that Harry will be available. I'm interested to see what the goblins are going to charge us for this. I'm sure they will fetch a fine fee for the various parts. I'm going to suggest to Harry that he take some of his share in product and the rest in the proceeds from the sale of the beast. I would hope he would be willing to give some of the venom to Severus, but I'll approach that subject carefully._

 _Harry's doing very well. Minerva was suitably impressed on their first day in class when he turned his teapot into a mouse on the first try. She said it was a very beautiful mouse. She did counsel him on not doing too well too quickly. I believe she has a few choice words for you. Evidently, when she did her human to animagus transformation, Harry laughed at her. Something about a prank you and James told him about._

 _So far nothing has been said from the seventh floor, but I'm sure it's a matter of time before he does. I suspect the goblins coming into the castle will elicit an interesting response. I'll let you know if it does. Well, Professor Moony has some homework to grade._

 _Regards,_

 _Moony_

The morning brought an owl from Amelia Bones. She was available Thursday morning to speak with him and Candace Williams was also available. That gave him a full day to figure out what all he needed to be doing. This would probably be a good day to spend in the Black vault as he wouldn't be hurried. He floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron and set out for the bank. The people in the Alley appeared to be a bit more relaxed when they saw him. There were still a couple of businesses that had his wanted picture in their window. He'd stop by and give them a thrill on his way back, perhaps.

When he asked to go to his vault, he was again taken by Newblade. The Black family vault was down in the lower reaches of the caves. There were only a couple of vaults further down. Upon entering it this time, Sirius took some time to look around and see just what was contained in it. Against one wall were bookshelves lined with books. Against the another wall were drawers filled with jewelry and other artifacts. The third wall was covered with portraits, art and other miscellaneous items. Spread throughout the rest of the vault were stacks and piles of galleons, sickles and knuts as well as weapons and armor of various types. Sirius was considering moving the gold to a separate vault. Perhaps he'd establish a household vault that he would use to live from and leave the rest for profit building. Something he would need to discuss with Silvergrip.

He methodically looked through the various paintings and portraits to see if there were any that he would like to take back to Grimmauld Place. Several of his ancestors had comments about his appearance and suitability to lead the House of Black. Sirius just flipped past those, ignoring the comments. There were a couple of paintings he may want to bring back with him depending on what was currently there. He vaguely remembered a portrait of Phineas Nigellus in the house. He'd need to find that one and take it down. The last thing he needed was for that portrait to be telling Dumbledore what he was doing.

There was really nothing in the jewelry he had much use for. There were several suits of goblin made armor and various weapons in the vault that were quite valuable, but he had no use for that either. He was most interested in the books, especially to see if there was anything about horcruxes. With the knowledge that Harry's scar might be one, anything he could learn about the foul pieces of magic could help. He was immediately drawn to one particular book, _Olde_ _Maggics of the Blacks_. This was probably what he was looking for on the family magics. He opened it and found the pages blank. Evidently there was something else he needed to do to access the book. He first tried placing his family ring on the family crest, but that didn't do anything. When he put his thumb on the crest he felt a small prick. This time when he opened the book it was filled with information. Leave it to the Blacks to require blood magic.

As he flipped through the pages, he noticed several spells for various things. There was one, _Familia Fidelitas_ , to judge the loyalty of a member of the family, another to place on the home to make it inaccessible to anyone not in the family. This was similar to the _Fidelius Charm_ but was not quite as specific. It would allow anyone with Black blood to enter. There were several very dark curses listed that he didn't want to even think about. Placing the book back in the spot he had taken it from, Sirius continued down the row. He pulled a book called _Spells of the Darke_ from the shelf and opened it. As he read it, he shivered. Dark was putting it kindly. About half-way through he found the passage he was looking for.

 _Most evile of spells is the horcrux. To prolong the caster's life, it requires the taking of another. The caster must select an appropriate vessel to house this evile. Gold is the preferred housing as its purity is unsurpassed. It is rumored that those so debased and willing to use any means to prolong their life have used lesser beasts to house their soul. This is the least preferred means as they are the most unpredictable and could meet an early demise. When casting the curse which kills their victim, the caster must immediately cast the horcrux curse to ensure the soul is trapped in this life. Someone coming into contact with a vessel containing a horcrux will feel an immediate compulsion to open or liberate the spirit within. Only two things are known to eliminate a horcrux - basilisk venom and fiendfyre._

If Harry's scar was a horcrux and basilisk venom would kill it, then why hadn't the horcrux been removed when he was bitten by the basilisk? He would definitely have to talk to the goblins about that. Glancing around, Sirius didn't see anything else that was of importance at the moment. Time to go wreak havoc on Diagon Alley.

Sirius left for the Ministry in sufficient time to meet with Amelia at nine. He got a silent kick out of the expression of the security wizard who checked his wand. Apparently the name Sirius Black still struck a chord with some wizards. He had stopped at three separate businesses on his way out of Diagon Alley yesterday suggesting they may want to remove the wanted poster from their window. It took a few minutes for the proprietors to connect the scraggly, half crazed wizard in the poster with the polished, distinguished one in their midst. Once they did, they were stepping all over themselves apologizing for their forgetfulness.

There were two young women also waiting in Amelia's outer office. Sirius took the initiative first, "Miss Williams? Miss Milton?"

"You must be Lord Black. Please call me Candace."

"Please call me Sandra, Lord Black.:

"Then you must call me Sirius. Thank you for what you are doing for Harry."

"He seems to be a very nice young man," said Candace.

At that point Amelia came out and ushered them into her office.

"Amelia, thank you for meeting with me."

"Of course. I much prefer this to our previous meeting. Now, how can we help you?"

"I was wondering what progress you have made on the investigation of the Dursleys."

Candace answered first, "On the magical side there isn't much we can do. We're just acting as a liaison at this point. Sandra is bearing the brunt of the investigation."

"When we first talked with Harry, there wasn't much of anything of substance as far as records go. I had managed to get a copy of their primary school records. Since that time I've gotten a copy of Dudley's records at Smeltings. Apparently his intimidation practices followed him there. His primary records show quite a number of incidents which were later assigned to Mr. Potter based on intervention by his aunt. His grades were abysmal at best. Apparently the only reason he got into Smeltings was due to him being a legacy admittance because of his father. Although I can't prove it, I suspect there was also a considerable donation made to the school. The only records for Harry with the National Health Service are when he got the required vaccinations for school. He was given an eye test at school and glasses were recommended but there was never a follow up at the NHS optical dispensary that he ever did get them. I noticed he had on glasses."

"His aunt picked a pair out of a donation bin for him. We had his eyes properly tested last month and the correct prescription dispensed."

"There is also no evidence he ever received dental care. However, I did receive a report from the Drs. Granger about an exam they performed on him last month. While his teeth are in good shape, he has severe bone loss from the malnutrition."

"The Grangers are parents of one of Harry's friends. They made the suggestion to do the exam to provide an unbiased report to you."

"That was actually a very smart move. Having a medical professional alert us to a problem gives us much more justification to investigate. We are planning to pay a surprise visit to the Dursleys this weekend. There are several key areas we plan to investigate. One is the cupboard under the stairs and the other is his current room. I'm interested to hear how they justify having a room with multiple locks and a cat flap in the door. We also have some spells we can perform without them noticing to identify the strength of Harry's magical signature. I suspect they will try and say one of the other rooms is Harry's but we can eliminate that easily."

"What do you expect to happen after that?"

"It depends on what happens with the visit. If we're lucky, Vernon Dursley will lose his temper and start making threats against us. If that happens he'll be taken into custody immediately. We'll have a constable with us. He's a squib so he's also familiar with these types of investigations. He's also very intimidating."

"Will you be trying them in muggle or wizard court?"

Amelia answered that question, "We feel that for Harry's privacy we handle this in the muggle courts. If it gets into the wizard courts the _Daily Prophet_ will have a field day. There are several judges in the muggle world that have knowledge of ours."

"Will Harry have to testify?"

Sandra answered, "It depends on what we find and what we are able to get them to admit. I suspect we will need him. We're going to have the medical report from the goblins transcribed by one of our squib physicians, however he may want to perform his own evaluation just for his professional security."

"That may be a problem. I can't get him out of Hogwarts without arousing Dumbledore's curiosity."

Amelia spoke up, "It may be something we have to deal with. At some point, he will find out. We'll try to keep it quiet for as long as we can."

After a few more minutes discussing the details of the visit, the group broke up. Sirius next went to the office of the Floo Network to check on the connection at Grimmauld Place. At some point there had been a connection but it suddenly ceased to exist. Sirius suspected that was when his father added the additional wards. He would buy some fresh powder the next time he was in Diagon Alley and test it between there and Potter Hall. From there he proceeded to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts.

When he told the greeting witch what he was trying to find out, he was directed to Amos Diggory.

"Lord Black, how may I help you today?"

"I understand you are investigating an incident at Hogwarts regarding a hippogriff."

"Yes, Yes. Bad business there. Lucius Malfoy's son was seriously injured. I'm preparing the paperwork now to have the beast destroyed."

"I wouldn't be so quick to do that. My godson, Harry Potter, was in the same class and witnessed the incident. According to him, young Mr. Malfoy antagonized the animal and was responsible for it acting as it did. Mr. Malfoy did sustain a small cut to his arm, but was healed by the matron and sent on his way."

"According to Lucius, his son required a sling for several days and was unable to perform adequately in his classes during that time."

"Again, you have been given incorrect information. Apparently Draco decided to take advantage of the situation and fashioned his own sling to elicit sympathy from his classmates as well as to ensure the gamekeeper received a more stringent punishment."

"Are you certain of your information?"

"I trust Harry implicitly in this. I have additional information from the current Defense Professor that these are the true facts. My godson is willing to provide his memory of the event in question if you require it. He was the first individual to interact with this hippogriff. The animal was quite tame to the point of allowing Harry to ride him."

"The hippogriff allowed the young man to ride him even though they had just met? It usually takes several months of close contact before a hippogriff will ever let a wizard ride them. I will certainly take a more in depth look into the situation, but it appears the hippogriff in question was not responsible for the incident. Lucius will not be very happy."

"If Lucius gives you any problems, please have him contact me."

"Certainly, Lord Black. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Having completed his business at the Ministry, Sirius went to the apparition point and apparated to Grimmauld Place to see what progress Kreacher had made.


	33. In A Perfectly Normal Neighborhood

**A/N: I'll say this now and it will appear later as well, I do not know exactly how Child Services and the court system works in Great Britain, so please allow me some creative license in how I present them.**

33\. In a perfectly normal neighborhood

Saturday, September 11, was a perfectly normal day in Little Whinging. In the subdivision of Hedge Hollow, residents were out pruning their gardens, mowing their lawns or washing their cars. Younger children were playing on the recently refurbished neighborhood playground.

At Number 4, Privet Drive, Petunia and Vernon Dursley were enjoying a quiet breakfast. The house was blessedly quiet. Dear Duddykins was back at Smeltings for his third year. No doubt he was enjoying being back together with the friends he'd made there. Although his grades weren't quite what they were hoping for, he seemed to have adjusted well to his new school. They were also blessedly shod of their freak nephew who was back at the freak school he attended. After blowing up Marge like a balloon, he had run off with no further word. Other freaks had come and put Marge to rights, but it was still fresh in her mind. Hopefully the boy was gone for good.

Vernon was sipping his coffee and reading the paper. He was reading about a particularly abnormal man who had been caught after murdering a family of three. He remembered hearing on the news a few weeks ago about an escaped murderer. There had been no further word about him. Hopefully those incompetent imbeciles who had managed to let the man escape had caught him by now. He'd just turned to the business section when the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who could be calling at this hour of the morning. You'd think they'd let a person have a lie in on the weekends. Could you see who is at the door, Petunia?"

"Of course, Vernon."

Petunia went to the front door and opened it. There were three people there; two women and one man.

"Mrs. Dursley?"

"Yes, I'm Petunia Dursley."

"My name is Sandra Miller. These are my coworkers, Candace Williams and Constable John Baker. We are from Child Social Services. May we come in?"

"Pet, who's at the door?"

"Vernon, you need to come here."

Vernon lumbered to the hallway, "Yes, Petunia?"

"These people are from Child Social Services and they want to come in the house."

"Whatever it is you want, the answer is no. Close the door Pet."

"Mr. Dursley, we're here to talk about your nephew. Now we can come inside and discuss this or we can stand out here where the whole neighborhood can hear our discussion. Which would you prefer?"

Hearing them mention his nephew caused Vernon's naturally pinkish colouration to turn a bit redder. He moved away from the door and ushered them in quickly, although they stayed in the entryway.

"Whatever it is you need, our nephew isn't here. He goes to a boarding school in Scotland. I'm sure there must have been a mistake," said Petunia.

"We received a complaint from a dentist near London that indicates your nephew may be the victim of child abuse. As you know, we take all complaints very seriously and are here to investigate further."

"Why that's impossible! He's never even been to a dentist!" spluttered Vernon.

"Is that so, Mr. Dursley?"

Vernon, realizing what he'd just said, tried to gloss it over, "What I meant is that he has not seen one this year. He's not due for his next checkup until he returns for the winter holidays."

"I believe we might all be a bit more comfortable in your sitting room."

Vernon grudgingly moved aside and directed them to the sitting room.

"Now whatever this nonsense the boy has put in your heads, I'm sure we can take care of it easily. He's a notorious liar. Never can get an honest word out of him."

"How long has Mr. Potter lived with you?" asked Candace.

Petunia answered, "He came to us in November 1981. His parents, his mother was my sister, were killed in a car accident. He was the only survivor."

"Why is there no record of guardianship on file with Child Social Services?" asked Sandra.

"We were told all of that had been taken care of by the agency who placed him with us." Petunia was getting a bad feeling about where these questions were leading.

"And were you receiving subsistence allowance for his care?" was Candace's next question.

"Of course not! We never received a dime for him. Took care of him out of the goodness of our hearts. Fed him, clothed him, put a roof over his head. He should be grateful to us, not complaining like some namby pamby cry baby," added Vernon.

"Speaking of putting a roof over his head, we would like you to show us around the house. We particularly want to see the bedrooms," said Sandra.

"He had his own bedroom! What more could he want? His own furnished flat?" spat Vernon.

"Regardless, this is a required part of our investigation."

Vernon led them upstairs. Thinking they hadn't even talked to the boy, he decided to try and trick them by opening the door to Dudley's room. The constable pulled out a camera and started taking pictures of each of the rooms they were being shown.

"See, the boy has everything a person his age could want."

"We need to see all of the bedrooms, if you please, Mr. Dursley," said Sandra.

He next took them to the guest room, "This room is our son Dudley's. He's away at school as well. As you can see, he keeps it neat as a pin."

"Thank you. Now the next room." She was beginning to get irritated at his attempts at deception.

"This room is our bedroom. It is quite sufficient for Petunia and I."

"Yes. Now, what about this room?" pointing to the room with seven locks and a cat flap on it.

"Oh, that's just a room we use for storage."

Candace asked, "Mr. Dursley, do you have a cat?"

"Of course not! I would never allow one of those filthy animals in my house! I can barely tolerate Marge's dog!" he said indignantly.

"Then why is there a cat flap in this door?"

"It was that way when we bought the house. The previous owner must have had one."

Sandra was finally losing her patience with the man, "Mr. Dursley, please open the door."

"I told you, there's nothing in that room except a pile of old junk. We have been remodeling and that was the most convenient place to put the unnecessary things until we could put them back in their place."

"Mr. Dursley, open the door. Now," stated Constable Baker.

Vernon fumbled in his pocket for his keys, "I don't see what the problem is. It's just a bunch of junk!"

Candace asked the obvious question, "If it's only junk, Mr. Dursley, then why do you have seven locks on the door?"

"I told you! That door was like that when we bought the house!"

He finally found the key chain and began unlocking the multiple locks. Once the last one was undone, he opened the door.

"See. It's only a pile of junk. Not even good enough to give to charity."

The three child care workers entered the bedroom. Candace went over to the bed and leaned down to check for the loose floorboard under it. Finding it where Harry had told them it was, she was satisfied he had been telling the truth. While she was down there, she also ran the spell to check for a magical signature. Harry's was quite strong in that room. Once she had gotten up, she nodded to the others and they went back downstairs. She stopped at the bottom where the cupboard under the stairs was. Petunia was the only person behind her when she did. She quickly opened the door. Just as Harry had told them, there was an old mattress in a corner of the cupboard with a dirty blanket, several broken action figures and a small sign that said, "Harry's Room." By the time Vernon noticed she had stopped, she had all of the information she needed.

"John, please take some pictures of the cupboard."

Vernon's colour skipped bright red and went to light purple. The vein on the side of his neck started pulsing, "Now see here! I've put up with your nonsense, but you do not have the right to go snooping anywhere you want to. This is my house!"

Candace had had enough, "You are correct, Mr. Dursley, this is your house. A house where you've systematically starved your young nephew; where he has been made to work like a slave while your son bullied him, using him as a punching bag. And that nonsense about the previous owner putting the cat flap on the door and all of the locks? You are the only owner of this house."

"We never wanted the little freak! He was just dropped off without even asking if we minded. He should be grateful for what we gave him! He got what he deserved!" Vernon was getting worked up and had now turned a particularly vivid shade of violet.

Sandra took over the questioning, "Are you saying he deserved to sit at the table watching everyone else eat, hoping he might get to have some of the leftovers? Are you saying he deserved to cook your meals knowing he wouldn't get to eat them? Are you saying that he deserved to be locked in the cupboard for days on end with very little food? Are you saying he deserved to be a punching bag for your son and his gang? I just want to be sure I understand you, Mr. Dursley?"

"Of course he did! We didn't need to have our lives interrupted because of him! Why shouldn't he earn his keep? He should have taken his freakishness somewhere else! Why that old fool left him with us. We told him we didn't want him!"

"And you, Mrs. Dursley? Did you think it was normal to shower your son with presents? Stuffing him full of food while denying your nephew? Allowing him to run unsupervised around the neighborhood beating up on other children, stealing their toys and ransacking the playground? Did your son ever lift a finger to help around the house? Do you think you did him any favors by this?"

"But my Dudders is a growing boy! He needs to eat everything he does. Everyone knows it was really the Potter boy who caused trouble in the neighborhood!"

"Petunia! Don't say anything else. These people are just paper pushers looking for whatever they think they can find on a fine upstanding family. They must get a bonus in their paychecks for each family they harass. Now I've had enough of this! You may leave now!"

Sandra said, "Of course, but you two will be coming with us."

"I most certainly will not! I will not be bullied by some low wage, uneducated clerks who think they can just yank good citizens around for their pleasure. Now get out of my house."

Sandra looked at John, "Go ahead John."

"Vernon and Petunia Dursley, you are under arrest for the suspected abuse of Harry Potter. You have the right to not answer any further questions as anything you say to us can be used in the case against you. You are entitled to a solicitor to represent you at any questioning. Do each of you understand what I have just told you?"

"This is preposterous! I'll not go anywhere with you. I'll be calling the station chief to lodge a complaint against you!"

"Mr. Dursley. I'll give you one more chance to come along with us to the station."

"I will not!" With that exclamation he sat back down in his chair.

"If you will excuse me for a moment, I'm going to call for assistance." He walked into the hall and used the radio he had to call for backup. He'd told the station chief that he expected trouble based on what he'd been told of the case, so another pair of constables were in the area and arrived within five minutes of the call. Of course, two police cars in front of the Dursley residence drew the attention of everyone in the neighborhood.

One of the officers who responded was the area sergeant, "What seems to be the problem, John?"

"When trying to place Mr. Dursley under arrest for suspected child abuse he refused to cooperate."

"Mr. Dursley, do you understand what Constable Baker explained to you?"

"He rattled off some mumbo jumbo about my nephew."

"Do you understand you are under arrest and are required to come with us to the precinct?"

"I've done nothing wrong! I'll do no such thing!"

"Mr. Dursley. I'm giving you one last chance to come with us quietly. If you do not, Constable Baker, Constable Reynolds and myself will take you forcibly."

"I'm not leaving my house!"

The three officers went over to where Vernon was sitting and, in unison, picked him up and handcuffed him. For all of his blustering and false bravado, Vernon Dursley was a chicken. Petunia knew a lost cause when she saw it and went willingly.

By the time the group made it to the cars, there was a crowd of neighbors gathered around. Shouts of "Vernon, what did you do?" and "Petunia, do you need us to watch the house?" "Is there someone you want us to call for you?" Neither Dursley said a thing. The shame of embarrassment of being led out of their house in handcuffs was more than they could tolerate. Down at Wisteria Walk, Arabella Figg was watching the scene play out, wondering if this was something she needed to tell Albus Dumbledore about. For now, she would wait.


	34. Contracts

34\. Contracts

A few days after Sirius had talked with Griphook, Remus received an owl from him regarding the salvaging of the basilisk. He didn't have time to read it before class started and wanted to do it in privacy. Harry was in his afternoon DADA class and, since it was the last class of the day, he could keep Harry afterward. Naturally when he held Harry back, Ron and Hermione stayed as well.

"Why don't we go to my office?" he said for the benefit of the portraits in the classroom. Once they got in his office he put his finger to his lips to keep them quiet then led them up to the seventh floor. Just as Hermione was about to ask what they were doing there, he again indicated they needed to be quiet until he told them otherwise. He paced back and forth by the empty wall across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. After the third pass, a door appeared. Remus ushered the three teens in and followed them.

Hermione could hold it no longer, "What is this place?"

"It has several names. Some call it the Room of Requirement; others call it the Come and Go Room. We found it quite by accident our fourth year."

"Does it always look like this?"

"No. As you pace in front of the wall, you think about the way you want the room to look like or the purpose you want it to serve and it will become what you ask it. For example, if I'd asked for this to be a dueling room, it would provide us with the platform and dueling dummies. We used it quite a lot for that. It's also unplottable, so if you are in here and have an emergency, nobody will know where you are. It is also the only room in the castle without a portrait where you can have a truly private conversation."

Harry asked, "So what is so hush hush?"

"I received a letter from the goblins this morning regarding the basilisk. I didn't have time to read it before class and wanted to make sure any discussions were absolutely private. Now, if you'll give me a moment to read it, I'll pass it to you, Harry. Hermione, this is the way we had the room when we needed to do homework in a quiet place. You may find some books of interest to you."

Hermione got up and walked around, taking in the tomes. Ron was sitting there trying to figure out what use he could be. Harry tried to start up a conversation with him to cover the awkward silence.

"So Ron, what are your plans for the weekend? Are you going to come watch practice tomorrow?"

"Uh, I don't know for sure. Probably. Nothing else to do but study. Maybe we could get an exploding snap tournament going?" he said eagerly.

"That sounds good. Maybe we could get some of the younger students involved. They seem to be a little lost, especially the first years."

"Yeah, the muggleborns probably don't know what it is. You were lost for the first few times before you learned how to play. Kind of like your chess playing is now," he grinned.

"Just for that I'm going to tell Malfoy that you challenged him to a chess match in the Great Hall after dinner tonight," Harry said with a smirk.

"I'd trounce the git if I ever played him."

Remus had finished reading the letter from the goblins and handed it to Harry.

 _Dear Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin,_

 _Based upon your description of a seventy foot long basilisk, the Goblin Nation proposes the following contract to harvest the deceased beast. We believe this will be profitable for both of us. We plan to arrive at 8 am on September 25. We estimate it will take us less than two days to complete the harvest. The Goblin Nation will assume responsibility for notifying the Headmaster of Hogwarts of our expected arrival and the requirement for both you and Mr. Lupin to be present during the beginning and ending of this task. We await your reply._

 _May your gold flow and your profits grow._

 _Griphook_

 _Potter Account Manager_

Contract

Between

The Goblin Nation

(Official Representative Griphook)

And

Harry James Potter

(Remus J. Lupin, Steward)

For

Harvest and Disposition of Deceased Basilisk

Under the terms of this contract, The Goblin Nation agrees to harvest and dispose of one basilisk and all associated properties to include skin, scales, fangs, venom, et cetera in the possession of Harry James Potter (by right of conquest). Said basilisk is currently housed in the Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The fee for this service will be thirty percent of the gross profit from the sale of all harvested parts. Mr. Potter will receive seventy percent of the gross profits which can be in the form of gold, harvested parts or any combination thereof. The harvest activity will begin promptly at 8 am on Saturday, September 25 and continue until complete. Mr. Potter will ensure the Chamber of Secrets is accessible to the reclamation team. Gringotts will serve notice on the Headmaster of Hogwarts of their intent to harvest the above beast.

Signed,

Ragnok

Managing Goblin

Gringotts Bank of England

There were places for Remus and Harry to sign and then return the contract to Griphook.

A grin crept up on Harry's face, "Well, it will be interesting to see what Dumbledore's reaction will be. I wonder how long it will take him before he calls me into his office?"

"It's possible he may call me in first. Would you like me to let Minerva know about this?"

"If you think she should be, sure."

"What about Severus?"

"I think I'll tell him about it tomorrow when we go down to brew my potion. I'll offer him some of the parts that I get as part of my payment. I suspect he'll be drooling worse than Padfoot."

Everyone in the room laughed at the visual picture that presented.

"I will reply to them that these terms are acceptable to us."

"We should let Sirius know too. That's probably something we want to use Dobby for."

"I'll send him a note tonight. Do you want me to send Dobby to you when I'm done?"

"Sure, I'll have a letter ready for him then. Tell him to make sure I'm alone in the dorm before he pops in."

"I will."

The group then split up and headed back to their respective areas. Remus still had essays to grade while the teens had an exploding snap tournament to organize. Dinner that night was a quiet affair. The castle seemed to have settled into its normal routine. Harry wrote his letter to Sirius as soon as he got back in case Dobby came early.

Saturday morning found Harry and Hermione in the dungeon again. By now they had the nutrient potion brewing settled into a carefully choreographed dance. Even Severus was impressed by their efficiency. He shook himself to rid his mind of the thought of having them make another batch to send to the Hospital Wing. No, that would never do. While the potion was cooling, Harry knocked on the Professor's door.

"Yes, Potter?"

"Professor, I need to ask you something but I need it to be in confidence," Harry said, looking around at the portrait in the room."

Severus looked at the one portrait and said, "Salazar, do you mind?"

"Oh no, Severus. I'll just go see how the hooligans are doing in the common room." With that, he departed his frame.

"Now, what is it you have that is so secret, Potter?"

"In two weeks, the goblins are going to come and harvest the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. I thought you might want some of the venom or other parts for your use. The goblins and I are dividing up the proceeds between us. I can take some of mine in the form of parts such as the venom or skin or scales. I don't have any use for anything, but I thought you might like some of the venom."

Severus was stunned. Was the Potter brat actually offering a share of a rare source of ingredients? "That would be most generous of you, Potter, but I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will allocate me some from the school's share."

"Sir, what I'm trying to tell you is that there is no school share. The goblins will get part in payment for harvesting it. I get the rest."

"How very Slytherin of you, Potter. And does the Headmaster know about this division?"

"Not yet, which is why I'm asking you now. I guess he's not going to be happy when he figures out he doesn't get anything."

"That would be an understatement. May I ask how you've managed to do this?" although Lupin told him and Minerva about the basilisk encounter, he wanted to see just how far Potter's trust had come.

"When the goblins did my physical, they noticed I had traces of basilisk venom in me so they asked how that happened. When I told them I had killed it, they told me that I had all rights to it. We just got the contract for it yesterday."

"Would I be allowed to view this beast before it is carved up into tiny pieces?"

"Of course. In fact, I think anybody who wants to see it should be able to. Maybe we can hold a preview of it the night before? I think Madam Bones was interested in seeing it too. The only thing about it is that you have to slide down this winding pipe to get to it and it's pretty dirty at the end. There was also a small cave-in where Professor Lockhart attempted to wipe our memories and it backfired."

"If the access is a pipe, how did you get out of there? You can't apparate in the castle even if you did know how and I doubt anyone left a supply of brooms down there."

"Fawkes carried us out of there."

"You do realize that is almost as rare as a basilisk, don't you?"

"I'm not sure I understand sir."

"A phoenix bonds to a wizard for the life of the wizard. It is said they only bond to someone whose motives are pure and magic is light. As part of the bond, they will protect their wizard with their life. Fawkes must have a special affinity for you, Potter. I doubt there is any record of a phoenix having divided loyalties."

"Wow. Maybe we should get Hagrid to have a lesson on the phoenix."

"That would definitely be more satisfactory than crazed hippogriffs."

"There is nothing crazy about Buckbeak, sir! We were down there last weekend and he came right over and let us pet him. He really likes it when you stroke his neck."

"You continue to amaze me, Potter. Hippogriffs are also notoriously territorial and finicky in addition to being proud. Apparently you have an affinity with magical beasts as a whole. Again, that is a rare trait."

Harry huffed, "I can't seem to do anything normal, can I?"

"It appears you are correct. But in answer to your original question, I would be happy to accept any pieces of the basilisk you would like to part with. Now, I believe your potion has cooled sufficiently and you probably don't want to spend any more time in the company of the resident dungeon bat."

Harry did his best to stifle the laugh that was trying to come out.

"Please contain yourself, Potter. Do you think I don't know what the students call me?"

"Either Remus or I will let you know about the trip down into the Chamber."

Monday morning was a dreary, rainy day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even the faculty sensed the mood of the weather. As he looked down the table at his professors, Albus Dumbledore was satisfied to see some things never change. Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were having some sort of argument. It was good to know they still had the same rivalries they had when they were students. It wouldn't do to have them become friendly with each other just as it was to have Severus remain hostile to Harry Potter. Some plans just took longer to work out.

When he entered his office he noticed the post owls had deposited their burdens in the box on his desk for incoming correspondence. He quickly scanned them to determine importance. There was one from Gringotts that caught his attention. What did the goblins want now?

 _Headmaster Dumbledore,_

 _The Goblin Nation has been contracted by Harry Potter to salvage the basilisk currently residing in the Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The salvage team will arrive promptly at 8 am on September 25 to begin operations. We anticipate this to take no more than 24-48 hours. We require the presence of Mr. Potter to open and close the Chamber. We have verified Mr. Potter's claim to the basilisk by right of conquest. The Goblin Nation will ensure the work site is left in a clean and safe manner. Our onsite manager will be Senior Goblin Beast Master Darmok._

 _Ragnok_

 _Managing Goblin_

 _Gringotts Bank of England_

How dare Potter! That basilisk belongs to Hogwarts! The fact that Albus had not thought about having it harvested notwithstanding. It would fetch a nice price on the market which would definitely help the coffers of Hogwarts (and his little Light army, The Order of the Phoenix). He would have to tread very carefully. It did not pay to anger the goblins. You could find yourself penniless very quickly. Perhaps if he contacted Dirk Cresswell in the Goblin Liaison Office at the Ministry he could get this action stopped.

Harry was starting to show some independence that just would not do. He needed to have the boy under his influence so that when the time came for him to fulfill his destiny, he would still be the meek, timid boy who arrived at Hogwarts two years ago. He looked over at his many instruments. The ones he had set up to monitor Harry were still working as designed.

Three days later Albus was even more unhappy. Dirk Cresswell had replied to his request that Harry did, in fact, have full rights to the basilisk and the contract with the Goblin Nation was binding. There was nothing he could do in the matter. He also advised the Headmaster that it would be in his best interest not to interfere with their activities.

At dinner that night Harry found a small scroll next to his fork. He opened it and saw that it was a request from the Headmaster to see him after dinner. He looked at his two friends and said, "Well now the fun begins."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Evidently the goblins have notified the Headmaster that they are going to come and harvest the basilisk. He wants to see me after dinner. I need to get Remus and Professor McGonagall to go with me."

"Do you want me to tell Professor Lupin for you?"

"We need to make it look like I didn't just pass the parchment over to you to take to him."

Hermione pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag and made a show of showing Harry something with it. Harry had already passed the message from Professor Dumbledore to her under the table. Once the charade was over, Hermione waited until Remus made to leave the Great Hall. She stopped him on pretense of asking him something about their homework. When she opened her book to show the professor where her question came from, he noticed a piece of paper between the pages. It didn't take Remus any time to guess what Hermione was trying to do. He quickly palmed the message and continued to answer her "question." Once the delivery had been made, Hermione returned to her seat. When he was away from sight of the doors to the Great Hall, Remus read the note. Several other students passed him before Minerva exited the hall.

"Minerva, a moment if you please."

"Of course, Remus."

"I believe we have an appointment with Albus after dinner."

"I don't know of …" she stopped when she realized Remus had slipped a piece of parchment in her hand. She quickly read it and understood what he was asking.

"Oh yes. Thank you for reminding me, Remus." The trio were coming out of the Great Hall so the two professors joined them.

Harry sent his two friends off to the Common Room.

"Do you know what this is about, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I guess it's about a letter he got from the goblins that they're going to come and salvage the basilisk on the 25th," replied Harry.

"I can see how that would upset him. Carry on then, Mr. Potter."

They walked up to the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. The password had been changed to "licorice wands" which the Headmaster had included in his request to Harry. The Headmaster was so unimaginative in his password choices thought Remus.

At the top of the stairs, Harry knocked and was immediately told to enter.

"Ah, Harry, thank you for coming. Minerva, Remus, there is no need for you to be here. I just needed to clarify something with Harry."

"As he's a member of my house, if he has been summoned to the Headmaster's office I would like to know why." Albus couldn't fault that logic. But why Remus?

"As you know, any student called to the Headmaster's Office has the right to have a representative with him, usually a parent or guardian. Mr. Potter has requested I fulfill that role as I am also the Potter Steward."

Quickly schooling his features, he said, "Of course. Harry, I received a letter from the goblins requesting access to the castle on the 25th in order to harvest the dead basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Were you aware of this?"

"Yes sir. I talked to them before school started and they agreed to harvest it on my behalf."

"But you know that the basilisk is school property. You should have consulted with me before you made any agreement with the goblins."

"The basilisk may be on school property, but since I am the one who killed it, I have the right to dispose of it in any way I want to."

"Surely you can see the benefit of allowing the school to supervise the harvesting of it. Think of all of the wondrous things to be gained. It would make a fine teaching example for the Care of Magical Creatures class and I'm sure Professor Snape would be quite happy to have access to it for potions ingredients."

"I'm sure there are several people who would like to view the basilisk. I'd be happy to open the Chamber for anyone who wants to see it. There is a small problem though, Headmaster. As you know, I'm the only one who can open the Chamber. When we were down there, Lockhart's memory charm backfired and caused a bit of a cave in, so I'm not sure how safe it would be for students to go in there. The other problem is that the only way down is a pipe that winds down through the castle. The only way we got back up was because Fawkes brought us back. You'd probably need a lot of brooms for people to see it."

"Perhaps we can transfigure some steps down there."

"It sure is a long way down, Professor."

"Would you like to show us now so that we may determine the best approach?"

Harry looked at Remus who shrugged. "I guess we can, Headmaster. I'd feel better if you'd let me get my broom first just in case. I'd also like to put on some clothes that I don't mind getting dirty. It's awfully dirty down there. Is there anyone else you want to go down there with us?"

"Perhaps we should have Severus join us? Minerva, will you ask him to meet us at the entrance to the Chamber? I believe it's in the second floor girl's bathroom. Correct, Harry?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then we should reassemble there in half an hour."

Remus left with Harry while Minerva headed to the dungeons.

"Are you comfortable with this, Harry?"

"Not really, but if we get it out of the way maybe he'll butt out. I really think we should have the show and tell on the 24th. Perhaps ask Madam Bones and Sirius too? I'd say ask Hagrid but I don't think he'd fit down there plus he'd be all upset about me killing the thing."

"Well, if we're going down now, there probably isn't a reason to go down again. Why don't we just let Amelia and Sirius know when the goblins are arriving in case they want to see it then?"

Harry went into Gryffindor Tower to change and grab his broom."

"Harry, you can't be going flying this time of night! You still need to complete your Charms essay," said Hermione.

"I'm not. We're going down into the Chamber."

"Oh! Can we go?"

Ron said, "I was down there once. I don't ever want to go down there again!"

Well, it's just going to be Remus, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. I doubt you'd have much fun, plus we may have to fly out."

"Good idea, mate. Would have been good to have them last time, but I guess having Fawkes help us was even better," said Ron.

"I'm going to go change. I don't want to get THIS set of robes filthy."

Harry quickly changed, grabbed his broom and set off for the second floor. It turned out he was the last person to arrive. There was a look of curious anticipation on the faces of his professors.

Any hope of not running into Myrtle were dashed as soon as the crowd entered.

"Hello Harry. Why don't you come and visit me anymore?"

"Hi Myrtle. You know how it is at the start of term. I promise I'll come visit again soon."

"Where are you going?"

"Back down into the Chamber."

"Well, if you don't come out of there alive, you can still come share my toilet with me," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Even Snape almost laughed at that comment.

Harry went over to the sink that was the entrance to the Chamber. He pointed out the snake on the faucet for the others to see. He then hissed "open" to it. Just as before, the sink dropped through the floor and the entrance to the Chamber was visible. Harry was about to jump down before being stopped by Remus.

"Harry, why don't you try to ask it for stairs?"

"Never thought about that. We were a bit preoccupied the last time."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment and thought about what he was about to do. He hissed out something that, to him, sounded like "stairs" but to others it was just some unintelligible hissing. To his surprise, a set of stairs appeared.

"Wow! That helps, but it's still a long way down. You might want to light your wands though, it's … Oh, wait. Let me try that too." This time he hissed "lights" and torches appeared on the walls of the staircase. With those tasks taken care of, he led the way down. When he stepped on the first step, the stairs became an escalator similar to the stairs to the Headmaster's office.

At the bottom of the stairs was still the mess of bones and remains of rodents. With a flick of their wands, the professors quickly banished them, leaving a clean path ahead. The next obstacle was where the cave in was.

"Ron was able to dig out enough room for us to crawl back through."

"If you had had a competent wizard with you, Potter, they could have made quick work of this mess," said Snape. The three wizards and one witch again worked in concert and the cave in was quickly put to rights.

"We may need to have the elves come down and make a permanent repair when we're down here next," said Professor Dumbledore.

They then came upon the shed skin of the basilisk. The full impact of what they were about to see finally hit the professors. Having seen it before, it made little impression on Harry. He continued down the tunnel until he reached the door to the chamber. Again he hissed "open" and it opened up for them all.

"May I present the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said with a flourish.

Harry climbed over the edge of the portal and again hissed "lights" and torches appeared all around the chamber giving it an eerie feeling. The professors got their first look at the basilisk and they all stopped in place.

"Harry, you fought THAT?" asked Remus.

"Yeah. I couldn't really tell just how big it was while it was chasing me. Parts of it were hidden. Luckily Fawkes blinded it for me."

By this time the group had come up to the spot where Harry had destroyed the diary. He pointed to the black ink spot with the fang lying next to it.

"I'll probably ask the goblins for several of the fangs. You never know when you might run into another cursed diary." Harry was secretly telling himself, 'or another horcrux'.

While the professors started walking around the beast, Harry moved over toward the mouth of the statue. Thinking hard, he remembered the words Tom had hissed at it. What did he have to lose?

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four," hissed Harry.

Just as it had for Riddle, the mouth of the statue opened. Harry was going to see what was in there when he felt a hand on his shoulder jerk him back.

"Just where do you think you're going Harry?" asked Remus.

"I wanted to see what was in there. This is where the basilisk came from."

"You do not just go into an unknown area without having someone check it first. There could be any sort of curse or hex on it."

"Well, if there is, it's probably in Parseltongue and none of you will be able to remove it," he retorted.

Remus had to acknowledge that possibility. "Be that as it may, before you go wandering around, you should have one of us with you."

They had gotten the attention of the other professors by that time and they all wanted to see what was in Slytherin's private chambers. Dumbledore led the way with Severus, Minerva, Harry and Remus following in that order. Dumbledore lit his wand for light until Harry could give the command for lights. The found themselves in a large stone chamber. It was also covered in small bones detritus from the basilisk's previous meals. The professors quickly banished them. The chamber reached approximately fifty feet high. It made a nice place for the basilisk to live, but otherwise, there was nothing else there. Hopes of finding a secret chamber or other artifacts of Salazar Slytherin were dashed.

"Well, it was worth a look," said Harry a bit dejectedly.

They all moved back into the Chamber and Harry hissed the statue closed. Having nothing else to do, they proceeded back to the entrance stairs. Along the way Harry turned the lights off and closed the entrances. When the first person stepped on the first step, the stairs turned into an escalator upwards. It was all a bit anticlimactic for Harry.

Dumbledore said before they parted company, "Yes, I can see that this would be a bit more than we could handle. Thank you for the tour, Harry."

Remus walked Harry back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I know what you've been telling us about the basilisk, Harry, but that puts it much more into perspective. If you ever do something so irresponsible as that again, you will be in detention for the rest of your school days."

Harry laughed, "You'll have to stand in line. Snape's already made that threat to me after I talked back to him."

"I'm sure Sirius will not be pleased to hear you were not exaggerating about the size of that snake either. However, I will let him know about the plans so he can be present when the goblins arrive."


	35. Making Progress

**A/N: Yes, the posting has slowed down a bit. It's partially due to the holiday season and partially because the story plot has taken a turn down the road that it's taking longer to write.**

35\. Making Progress

The next several days passed quickly. Dumbledore had given up any hope of finding a way to stop the goblins from harvesting the basilisk. Now his only concern was to keep this away from the press. Luckily Harry's dislike of them worked in his favor. Hopefully this would all die down quickly.

Remus had a surprise in the morning mail the day after the trip to the Chamber. It appeared to be a weekly muggle newspaper as well as a letter. It wasn't until he looked at the bottom of the page that he understood the significance.

 _Little Whinging Couple Arrested for Child Abuse_

 _This Saturday past, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, were arrested on suspicion of the abuse and neglect of their nephew (name unavailable due to his age). Allegations include starving their nephew while over-feeding their own son and unlawful restraint for locking their nephew in a boot cupboard, sometimes for days at a time. Other charges may be added as the investigation progresses._

 _Mr. Dursley is the sales manager for Grunnings Drills. Mrs. Dursley is a homemaker. It is unknown at this time if they have retained a solicitor to represent them._

 _Emergency custody of both the nephew and the Dursley's own son have been awarded to Child Social Services. Our sources have learned that both boys are currently attending separate boarding schools._

He opened the letter next. It was from Candace Williams.

 _Remus and Harry,_

 _As you can see from the newspaper, we arrested the Dursleys on Saturday. Amelia has been in contact with Sirius Black and we have awarded emergency custody to him for the muggle world. The judge we are using is aware of Harry's status. He handles all custody issues for magical children. We are very close to preferring charges against their son as well. Once the Headmaster at Smeltings heard about the trouble with the senior Dursleys, he was quite happy to enlighten us on the activities of their son. The only reason he hadn't been expelled from there was due to the amount of money Vernon was donating to keep it all hushed up. We expect Dudley will be expelled within the next few days. I will keep you posted on developments. There is also a protection order prohibiting the Dursleys from coming within 100 yards of Harry._

 _On a much lighter note, we've received Sirius' application for guardianship of Harry in the magical world. We should have that processed quickly as well. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Candace Williams_

 _Wizard Family Services_

Remus let a big smile cross his face. It was finally happening. Harry was going to get a family he could call his own.

"And what has you looking like the cat who ate the canary, Remus," asked Minerva.

Remus quietly slid the two items over for her to read.

"Albus is not going to be very happy about any of this is he?"

"I would guess not, but now there isn't much he will be able to do about it, especially with the muggle world."

"I have Harry in my class later this morning. Would you like for me to have him come see you afterwards?"

"If it would be no trouble. Thank you."

Harry was surprised to be stopped by Professor McGonagall on his way out of Transfiguration. He told his friends to go ahead to lunch without him as Remus needed to see him but they decided to go with him. Remus was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Hello Ron and Hermione. You didn't need to come with Harry. I just needed to talk to him about some homework he'd done. I had a question about it."

They quickly grasped the fact that Remus needed to talk to Harry about something that was not related to his homework. Even Ron picked up on it. Remus pushed over the copy of the paper for him to read and also Candace's note. He acted like he was pointing out certain passages in an essay while Harry was reading. Harry gave some made up answers to respond to the man. Dobby chose that moment to pop in with letters for both of them.

"Harry sir! And Master Wolfie! You be both together! I have letters from Master Doggie for you."

"Thanks Dobby! I think I have an idea what it's about. Will you tell Sirius I'll write him later tonight? I'll call you when I need you to pick it up," smiled Harry.

"Does Master Wolfie need to send a letter as well?"

"Yes, I should have mine ready as well when you come back."

With that, the elf popped out again. Harry and Remus began reading their letters and smiles grew across both faces. Rather than reading them out loud in front of the portrait, Harry passed his over to Hermione and Ron. Sirius had said pretty much what Candace had told them. The best part was that he was now officially Harry's guardian in the muggle world! The paperwork was at the Ministry to complete the process there. He would never have to go back to the Dursleys again!

As much as Harry wanted to dance around and celebrate, he had to keep his cool for now. He knew Dumbledore would be hearing more about this, it was only a matter of time. He looked at Remus, "Thank you for letting me clear that up, Professor."

"Of course, Harry. Now I believe we're all late for lunch."

In another part of the castle, Albus Dumbledore was shaking his head. He'd just received a floo call from Arabella Figg. She told him about the Dursley's arrest and that, according to the paper, the Dursleys no longer had custody of Harry Potter. Well, he didn't know what he would have to do to make that disappear, but he would determine which muggles needed their memories modified and get that taken care of very shortly. He'd had to do this several times over the years when somehow the muggle authorities tried to investigate the Dursleys. All of his instruments still showed all of the wards still up at Privet Drive and the monitoring charm on Harry still appeared to be working. Unfortunately, it wasn't specific to his exact location, but it did show he was in the castle.

While Dobby was off at Hogwarts delivering his letters, Sirius took the time to pop back over to Grimmauld place to see what progress Kreacher had made on cleaning up the place. With the floo network active there, it was much easier to go from house to house. When he stepped out of the fireplace at Grimmauld place, he was quite impressed with its new look. The fireplace with the floo connection was in the sitting room where the Black family tree was located. The doxies were all gone and the dirt and grime all cleaned up. If the rest of the house looked this good, he would not regret keeping Kreacher on. Speaking of the elf, "Kreacher."

In popped the elf, attired in a proper tea towel with the Black crest. His ear hairs were cleaned to a bright white.

"Master called Kreacher?"

"Yes. This room looks great! Please show me the remainder of the house."

Kreacher took him through the house, pointing out anything he thought his new Master should be apprised of. When they reached the second floor, Sirius noticed the frame where Phineas Nigellus frequented. He tried to pull the portrait off the wall but it wouldn't budge.

"Kreacher, can you remove this picture?"

"That be the portrait of the late Master Phineas, sir. He is the only Black to serve as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He …"

"He is also the least most liked headmaster to ever serve. Yes, yes, I know all of that. I want it out of here immediately. If you can't remove it, then I'll blast it off."

Kreacher snapped his fingers and the portrait dropped to the ground, "What would Master like Kreacher to do with Master Phineas?"

"Put him in the cellar. Yes, I think the potions laboratory would be a good place for him. And put a permanent silencing charm on it too."

"Of course, Master."

Sirius looked at the other rooms on the floor, including the master suite. While the trappings were dated, it was very well appointed. Unfortunately, all of the colors were Slytherin green and silver.

"Kreacher, I want you to repaint this room and redo all of the colors."

"What would Master like?"

"Something a bit more neutral for a start. Beige, brown, navy blue, maroon, but no green. Feel free to use those colors in whatever combination you think will look best. When Harry comes here later, I'll let him chose which bedroom he'd like and let you know how he would like it furnished. The same for Remus Lupin as well. While Remus will be at Hogwarts for the year and he will probably be living at Potter Hall during breaks, he is considered a member of my family and you will treat him as such. Is that understood?"

"Yes Master. Kreacher will treat Master's friends as part of the family as you wish."

They finally made their way to the third floor - where Sirius had spent his childhood with his brother Regulus.

"Kreacher has not touched your and Master Regulus' rooms other than to clean them. I did not know what Master wanted to do with them."

"Thank you, Kreacher. We can address those later. I wish I knew what Regulus had gotten himself into that Voldemort wanted to kill him himself."

"The Dark Lord did not kill Master Regulus, Master."

"Of course he did. Several people told me so."

"No he did not, Master."

"And how do you know?"

"I was there."

Sirius looked at the elf in astonishment, "You were? Please explain what happened, Kreacher."

"Master Regulus said the Dark Lord required an elf. He sent me to help him and when I was through, he told me to return. The Dark Lord took me to a cave where he placed a necklace. He then set a trap made of a potion. He needed the elf to test the potion. Potion made Kreacher think of all the bad things he'd ever done. The Dark Lord left me there. Potion made Kreacher thirsty. Potion made Kreacher want to die. Bodies come after Kreacher."

"But you're here now."

"Master Regulus told me to come home."

Sirius shook his head, "He what?"

"Master Regulus told me to come home. Kreacher came home."

"But you said you were there when Regulus died."

"Kreacher returned to Master Regulus as he ordered. Master Regulus asked what the Dark Lord wanted with an elf. When I told him, he made me take him there."

"Did Regulus make you drink the potion again?"

Kreacher started crying at this point, "No, Master Regulus drank the potion. He told me to take the locket the Dark Lord had put there, destroy it and return home. Kreacher failed Master Regulus." He began beating his head against the door frame.

"Stop, Kreacher! What happened to Regulus?"

"Dead bodies came out of the lake and took him. Kreacher could not help him. Master Regulus told Kreacher to go home and destroy the locket but Kreacher could not destroy it."

Sirius bent down to the elf's level, "Do you still have Master Regulus' locket?"

"Yes Master."

"Can you show it to me?"

The elf nodded, then led Sirius down to the sitting room. He opened the cabinet and brought out a gold locket with an 'S' on it and handed it to Sirius. Sirius felt the evil coming from it and dropped it. He had an idea what it could be, but he was going to take it to the goblins and let them take care of it.

"Thank you, Kreacher. You have served the House of Black with distinction in your assistance to Master Regulus. I will ensure the locket is destroyed and will let you know when it has."

Kreacher was shocked to be spoken to in such a manner by Master Sirius. The wizard had never had a kind word for him. He threw himself at the wizard and hugged his legs. Once Sirius had settled the elf down, he took the floo to the Leaky Cauldron and went straight to Gringotts.


	36. Secrets of the Chamber of Secrets

**A/N: For those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! For those of you who celebrate other holidays this time of year, Happy Holidays!**

36\. Secrets of the Chamber of Secrets

The weekend of the 25th found the castle actually pretty quiet. Saturday morning Harry and Remus went to breakfast early in order to be ready when the goblins arrived. Remus had sent a note to Sirius about the goblins' planned date for the basilisk and encouraged him to bring Amelia Bones with him as well. They were waiting in the Entrance Hall when Hagrid escorted the group in. The first person Harry saw was Sirius.

"Hello pup! I brought a few folks to visit your Chamber of Secrets." Sirius followed that with a big hug.

"Hello Harry. Good to see you again."

"Thank you for coming, Madam Bones."

"I couldn't resist a chance to see one of these fabled beasts."

"Harry, this is Senior Goblin Beast Master Darmok. He's in charge of the recovery group," said Sirius as he indicated one of the goblins.

"Senior Beast Master Darmok I am pleased to meet you. If you will follow us, we'll take you to the Chamber of Secrets."

By this time the group had drawn a crowd. Quite a few students had gathered around to see what could have brought a dozen goblins, a troll and the Director of Magical Law Enforcement to the castle. Dumbledore chose that moment to appear.

"Amelia, what brings you to the castle today?" he asked.

"I didn't want to miss the chance to see one of these legendary beasts up close."

"I wasn't aware you knew of its presence in the castle."

"Harry told me about it earlier in the summer and invited me to see it when the goblins came to harvest it."

"Of course," he then turned to Sirius, "Sirius, so good to see you again. You are looking much better than the last time I saw you. What brings you here?"

"Albus. My GODSON told me about his encounter with the basilisk and invited me as well to view it before the goblins take it away." Sirius emphasized the word 'godson' intentionally.

Albus wanted to deny them all entrance, but he did not have a reason to without raising suspicions.

"Of course. If you will follow me, I will take you to the entrance on the second floor," then lead the way upward.

It was not lost on the group following Dumbledore that he had not acknowledged the presence of the goblins at all.

When they reached the second floor girl's bathroom, the wizards (including Director Bones) went in first so that Harry could open the Chamber. This time he automatically requested stairs and lights. Once that was in place, they decided the order they would go down. Harry, Sirius, and Director Bones would go down first, then the goblins with Remus going down last. Since Remus had already been down there once, it was thought having someone familiar with the Chamber would be helpful in that position. The goblins had brought a security troll with them to guard the entrance from any onlookers. Dumbledore had decided to join them for the first part just to see what the goblins had planned.

The group first stopped at the shed skin. Senior Beast Master Darmok inspected it carefully, then said something to one of the other goblins in Gobbledygook. That goblin stayed behind. Apparently he was in charge of harvesting the skin. Harry opened the inner door and then lead the group into the primary Chamber. To say the group (with the exception of Harry, Remus and Dumbledore) were impressed would be an understatement.

Senior Beast Master Darmok was the first to speak, "What did you use to slay the beast Mr. Potter?"

"A sword."

"It must have been a formidable sword."

"Well, it was the Sword of Gryffindor if that makes any difference."

"That was a particularly fine piece of goblin metalwork. Do you still possess this sword Mr. Potter?"

"No, I gave it back to the Headmaster when I was done with it."

"The sword has been placed back in its case in the Headmaster's Office. It is said that only a true Gryffindor can call the sword to them in a time of need," added Dumbledore.

"Yes. The Goblin Nation has heard that legend as well. The sword was originally made for Ragnuk the First. It was one of the treasures of the Goblins. Curious that it chooses those it allows to wield it."

"Is there anything I can help you with while you do your work?" asked Harry.

"No. We will start with the venom sac and remove it and attempt to drain the remaining venom first. Then we will skin it and filet the meat. Once we have that done, we will remove the fangs. The only bone is in the skull. Are there any particular parts you wish to keep?"

"I would like some of the venom but that's all I can think of."

Sirius interrupted, "Take some of the skin as well. It makes good armor and a pair of gloves made out of it would be just as useful as dragonhide."

"OK. Well, enough skin for a couple of sets of armor then?"

"Very well. If you have nothing further we will begin our work."

With that, the goblins started work. The wizards took a tour around the Chamber. Harry walked over to the statue and asked to open, allowing them to tour the room behind it. Dumbledore chose this moment to leave.

Harry went over to Sirius, "We thought it might be Slytherin's private library or something but I guess it was just a place for the snake to hibernate."

When they got inside and were sure they were alone, Sirius brought out a roll of parchment, "Thought you might like to see this."

Harry unrolled the scroll and looked at it. The top of it read 'Certificate of Guardianship of Harry James Potter to Sirius Orion Black.' He looked down at the bottom and saw the seal of the Ministry.

"It's real?"

"It's very real!"

Harry was swept up in a big hug. The other two came over and congratulated the pair.

"Now Dumbledore can't interfere in your life anymore."

"Don't bet on that. He'll still find some way to stick his crooked nose in my business. Just watch."

"I didn't want to let this go public until I'd told you first. Wizarding Family Services is holding it until I talked to you."

"I think we should just let him read about it in the _Daily Prophet_ , personally," Harry spat.

The three adults all chuckled at that. With that out of the way, they got back to the matter at hand.

"I wonder if the people in the Department of Mysteries would find anything in here. It's possible there is a hidden room behind it. Did you try to open anything else?" said Sirius

"No. We just found this place last week when I brought Remus and Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape down here."

"Why don't you try walking around the perimeter and talking to the walls."

"Won't that look a little stupid?"

"Probably, but since it's just us down here now, we know what you're trying to do."

So Harry did walk around talking to the walls. When he got to the very back of the chamber, he heard a soft 'click' and there was a break in the wall that appeared to be a door. That got the attention of the adults in the room with him. Harry was about to go inside before Sirius grabbed him.

"Where do you think you're going? You don't know what is back there! There could be another basilisk for all you know. Let us check it out first!"

Remus and Amelia both came over and started doing detection spells to check for any curses or hexes that may be on the room. Satisfied it was safe, they moved into the room. Sirius came back for Harry.

"Will you see if you can turn some light on for us?"

Harry entered the room and requested the lights. What they found was amazing. There were shelves of books and bound parchments, all in pristine condition. They all just stood there taking it all in for several minutes before one of them thought to speak.

Remus said, "I think I will go get Albus."

"You may want to have him bring the heads of house and Madam Pince," said Amelia.

"Good idea. I shall return shortly."

The three remaining members started looking at the hidden library. Just a quick look led them to the conclusion that these were left from all four Founders. This room was square and each wall represented one of the Founders. Above the respective walls was the crest for the particular house. Harry wandered over to the center of the room where there was a small sitting area. There was a book on the table that he picked up. It appeared to be a diary from Salazar Slytherin. Harry was transfixed as he read the entries from the man. Sirius came over to see what had interested his godson so. He looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading. It looked like pure gibberish to him.

"What's that, Harry?"

"Slytherin's diary."

"How do you know that?"

"It says right here," pointing to the first page.

"It looks like a bunch of nonsense to me."

Harry turned back to the page he'd been reading. Amelia had come over to see what had the others had found. "See, it says that Slytherin was the last of the four founders to join the group."

"Harry, all I see is a bunch of total gibberish. Oh, wait. Could that be written in Parseltongue?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it written down."

"Looks like you're going to have another job as translator," said Amelia.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Right. He couldn't have written his diary in any normal language. When this gets out that I'm the only one who can read it, the whole wizarding world will be after me saying I'm the next dark wizard. I had enough trouble last year with the whole Chamber of Secrets/Heir of Slytherin thing."

Sirius chuckled, "Pup, when are you going to learn that there is nothing normal about you?"

Amelia went back over to the wall indicating it belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw while Sirius went to the one indicating Godric Gryffindor. This was where they were found when the parade of professors entered a short time later. Even Snape was speechless.

"Harry, my boy, what have you found this time?" asked Dumbledore.

"It appears to be works of the Founders, Professor. If you'll notice there's a crest above each wall which shows which Founder the books belong to."

"And what is that you're reading?"

"It's the diary of Salazar Slytherin, sir."

"May I see it?" he asked.

Harry stifled the laugh he wanted to give while Sirius and Amelia also suppressed grins. Remus had seen that look on Padfoot's face before so he knew there was a large prank in progress. Harry handed the book to the Headmaster.

Snape had moved over to the Headmaster's shoulder so he could also read the diary.

"Potter! Is this some kind of joke? There's nothing readable on this at all!" exclaimed the Potions Professor.

"Sorry sir. Apparently that's what Parseltongue looks like when it's written down. Would you like me to read a passage for you?"

Dumbledore passed the book back to the teen and he began reading,

 _We completed the basic design of the castle today. We are still contemplating the location of the living quarters. Helga and I want them all accessible on the ground floor while Godric and Rowena want them up in the towers at the corners of the four wings. We do not appear to have a resolution so we may let each determine where they want their living quarters and be done with it. The upper dungeons on the side of the lake would be a perfect area for my students. Helga is partial to the lower floor near where we plan to have the kitchens and elf quarters. Godric is considering the south tower area while Rowena is examining the west tower. We will meet with the head elf designer tomorrow to see if this can be done._

"Very interesting, Harry. Thank you for reading it for us. Madam Pince, what would be the best way to preserve these valuable tomes?"

"I'm sure having them sealed up in this tomb was probably the best method available. Now that we've let air in, they may begin to deteriorate rapidly. I will have to discuss this with those skilled in preservation to determine the best method. For now I think we should leave everything here."

"That is a very good suggestion. Does anyone have others?"

Minerva spoke first, "Perhaps we may want to have Bathilda Bagshot take a look at these. As the foremost expert on wizarding history, she may be able to make use of them in a revision of her _History of Magic_ text."

"For now, why don't each of you select one or two volumes to take with you. We will schedule time with Harry to let us in to review others, if that is acceptable to you, Harry."

"Fine with me, sir."

"I would also recommend leaving Salazar's diary here for now."

The various faculty members spread out and looked through their respective sections. When one found a book on another's specialty, they let them know. It took over a half an hour for each of them to make their choices. They then exited the library into the round room and out into the larger Chamber.

Harry was stopped by Senior Beast Master Darmok when he came through.

"Mr. Potter, we've removed the venom sac. We estimate it contains about 55 gallons of venom. Was there a specific amount you wanted?"

"Professor Snape? Could you come here please?" Harry asked of the professor.

"Yes, Potter?"

"They were asking me how much of the venom I wanted. Would a couple of gallons be enough for you?"

Severus had counted on the possibility of a quart at most. The prospect of several gallons was a Potion Master's dream." That would be acceptable, Mr. Potter."

"Senior Beast Master Darmok, if I could have three gallons that would be great. The rest can be put in with everything else."

The goblin said something to one of the workers and he quickly reappeared with the requested venom. Professor Snape took one gallon while Remus and Sirius each took one. No one wanted to find themselves overloaded and have one of the containers burst.

"Is there a time you would like for me to come back?"

"We will be working through the night."

"If you need something, just call for an elf named Dobby. He can reach either me or Remus."

The final group ascended the stairs. The security troll moved just long enough for them to pass then went back to his post in front of the entrance.


	37. Contemplations

**A/N: I hope you all have a great New Year! See you back in 2016!**

37\. Contemplations

After leaving the Chamber, Remus invited Sirius and Amelia to his office for tea. At least that's what Remus said while they were in the presence of the other professors. Instead of stopping at his office on the third floor, he continued on to the seventh and the Room of Requirement. Sirius was about to ask where they were going until he realized where they were. Amelia quickly caught on that they were going somewhere private. Remus walked in front of the wall three times and a door appeared.

"How many other secrets do you gentlemen know?" asked Amelia.

"More than we're going to tell you," grinned Sirius.

Once they were comfortable, Amelia began the discussion.

"I thought you all would like an update on the case against the Dursleys. Dudley Dursley has been expelled from Smeltings and is now a ward of Child Social Services. He's currently in a group home being evaluated. It quickly came out that the Headmaster had been bribed to not report the numerous assaults on other students as well as the thefts of property and vandalism so he has resigned. Quite a few parents are now planning to prefer charges against young Dudley for his misdeeds. The elder Dursleys quickly made bail and are back at Privet Drive until their trial can be held. Grunnings Drills terminated Vernon's employment once it learned of the charges."

"I'll have to talk to Harry then. I suspect they will be having a very hard time making their mortgage payments," said Remus.

"Harry is not going to have pity on them and allow them to skip payments, Remus. I won't let him," said Sirius.

"I don't plan to allow that to happen. I just want him to be aware that it will probably happen. The bank should have notified them of their change in payment amount by now which will also affect their ability to meet the payment," replied Remus.

"The next item I am sure you are interested in is the Dementor attack on the Hogwarts Express. There are only a few people at the Ministry who could have ordered it. I don't think Fudge is smart enough to have done it, but we're not ruling him out."

"So do you have a suspect?" asked Sirius.

"We are investigating a couple of senior Ministry employees. I have my suspicion about who did it but until we are sure, I don't want to falsely accuse anyone."

"Serve them right to have to live with the very creatures they loosed on my godson," scowled Sirius.

"The next question I have is for you. What are you intending to do with Albus?"

Sirius replied, "At the moment I am biding my time until we have these other loose ends tied up. I have Gerald compiling a list of charges to bring to discuss with you and I hope you will be able to bring them to the Wizengamot. I plan to take the Black seat at the monthly meeting on Thursday. I think we'll be ready by the October meeting. The next step in the plot against him is the announcement of the guardianship. I'll talk to Harry to find out just how he wants to do this. Did you say there was a Hogsmeade weekend next month, Remus?"

"Yes, it's the 9th. I've already given Harry's permission form to Minerva. Also, you may want to plan to be here the 23rd for the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match."

"This may be one time we can actually use Rita Skeeter for our own benefit. Perhaps an exclusive with us will keep her on our side when the fur begins to fly."

"Is there anything else you needed to tell us about, Amelia?" asked Sirius.

"No, I think this is enough for now. I'll keep you posted on the developments with both the Dursleys and the Dementor investigation."

Sirius then broke his news, "Well, I have something for you both. I believe I've found another of Voldemort's prized possessions," and related the story that Kreacher had told him.

"I took it straight to Gringotts. They had one of the curse experts who examined Harry take a look at it. It's definitely another one. They weren't able to open it either. I gave them permission to use whatever method they could to destroy it. Since there is apparently only two ways to do that, they enclosed it in a room and cast fiendfyre. The room they used shook for a few seconds afterwards, then all was silent. All that was left was a molten glob of gold. I've placed it in my vault for now."

They discussed that development for a few more minutes before Remus escorted them to the gates then headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Before they left, Remus handed Sirius a small package. Harry had Quidditch practice that afternoon. They planned to check in with the goblins before dinner.

Harry came back into the castle a dirty mess. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain, had worked them mercilessly even though all players had been on the team for the past two years. Harry had caught the snitch five different times and avoided all of the bludgers the twins hit at him. He had just enough time to get a shower before it was time for dinner. Harry had not told his friends about the find in the Chamber of Secrets. Although Ron said he never wanted to see that place again, he was sure Hermione would want to see the hidden library. He waited until Remus indicated he was through with dinner then met him outside the Great Hall. Once they passed the security troll and were down into the Chamber, Remus was comfortable telling Harry what he'd learned from Amelia.

"So Uncle Vernon lost his job and Dudley was kicked out of Smeltings. What other good news do you have?"

"You don't have to look so pleased, Harry."

"I'm not, but you know what they say about what goes around, comes around? It appears they're now getting theirs."

"Yes, however, this does affect you indirectly."

"Whatever Gringotts believes is the right course of action is fine with me. I'm not going to interfere one way or the other."

"Sirius wanted to talk to you about announcing the guardianship."

"Oh! I knew there was something I needed to talk to him about." Harry looked a bit dejected.

"Don't worry. I've got a solution for the communication problem. We don't have to rely solely on Dobby now." He reached into his pocket for another small package. "I would recommend you use this in private for now. Of course you can have Ron and Hermione around, but I think we need to keep this quiet. It's the communication mirror Sirius was talking about. It works for either Sirius or me. Just speak the name of the person you wish to talk to and their mirror will vibrate and get warm. Try it now."

Harry took the mirror and spoke, "Sirius?" After waiting a few minutes, a face appeared.

"Hi pup! It appears the mirrors work well. Thanks Moony! Sorry I didn't get to see you before I left. I know you had a full day planned even before the goblins showed up. How is the harvest going?"

"I don't know, we're on our way there. We just stopped for a few minutes before going in."

"Well, don't let me hold you up. Call me again tonight before you go to bed. I've got a few things to talk to you about."

"Sure!"

They continued on into the main Chamber. The goblins had made fast work and were about half way through harvesting the beast. It looked even worse without the skin on it. Harry's stomach got a bit unsettled looking at it. Darmok noticed their arrival and walked over to them.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, how may I be of service to you this evening?"

"We just wanted to see how you are doing Senior Beast Master Darmok," said Harry.

"I would be honored if you would call me Darmok. I did not mention this when the others were around, but anyone who has successfully wielded the Sword of Ragnuk the First is honored by the Goblin Nation. We are progressing satisfactorily, Mr. Potter. While none of us have ever seen a basilisk of this size before, the goblins have numerous accounts of them and the proper way to harvest the remains. This should be a very profitable enterprise for both yourself and the goblins."

"Is there anything you need of us tonight?" asked Remus?

"No. With the castle quiet, I am sure we will get much of this completed by dawn tomorrow."

"Then we will leave you to your work. If you require anything, please call for Dobby and he will get one of us."

In the Headmaster's office, Albus Dumbledore was pondering the day's activities. Having seen the size of the beast last week, he was even more surprised that Harry had survived the encounter three months prior. That, however, was small when put up against the find of the Founders' Library. There was nothing he knew that could compare to that in the history of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the only way he could get down to it was to ask Harry to let him in. He would need to notify the Board of Governors of the latest find. He hadn't told them of the basilisk, only that the mysterious Chamber of Secrets had finally been located and that it no longer posed a threat to the students. He did tell them that Slytherin's fabled monster had been dealt with and would no longer plague the castle. It had taken a lot of finesse on his part to avoid answering anything directly. Being able to implicate Lucius Malfoy in the events deflected some of the pressure he could have felt. It also succeeded in getting Lucius ejected from the Board.

What to make of the blooming relationship between Harry and Sirius was his greatest puzzle at the moment. With Remus as the Potter Steward, that meant that they were most probably aware of the status of the Potter finances to include Harry's trust vault. Well, that couldn't be helped. It was all for the greater good to ensure Petunia's silence over taking the boy. He regretted he could not continue the payments after Harry started at Hogwarts, but he had placated the Dursleys by reminding them that they only had to put up with the boy for two months out of the year.

Sirius had been quite adamant when he asked why he was here to emphasize that he was Harry's godfather. Yes, he was sure that was another thing that had come out when the will had been read, but the man had been free less than a month. How could they have developed a relationship in such a short time? He had only been cleared two days before Harry had come to school. None of his contacts at the Ministry had given him anything that he should be concerned about.

Amelia's presence was even more concerning. Apparently she had spoken with Harry before he came back to school. Of course! It had to be when she was talking to him about Pettigrew's capture. Surely there had been nothing more to it. She couldn't have any connection with the Dursley's arrest. Somehow the muggle authorities must have been alerted by someone else, perhaps a neighbor new to the community. He had been pleased with the atmosphere of mistrust the Dursleys had created in regards to Harry. Spreading the word that Harry attended a school for criminal boys had been a stroke of genius on their part. Well, perhaps he could find out more when he went to the Ministry on Thursday for the monthly meeting of the Wizengamot.

In the dungeons, Severus Snape was also contemplating the day's events over a tumbler of firewhiskey. Certainly the boy could have used the venom he had given him for more profitable means. Whomever had told him to work with the goblins on the basilisk was a genius - unless it was the goblins themselves. But how could they know about it unless Potter told them about it? Ah yes, the health report mentioned basilisk venom contamination. The boy was becoming more of a puzzle as each day progressed. Apparently he and the wolf had gotten to know each other after the will reading. Had he not sought out the boy after his parents' death? He was sure the wolf had been spoiling him along with his relatives. But wait. This was Petunia he was thinking about. She had turned on Lily after she'd gotten her Hogwarts letter. The chance she'd had a major turn in her personality was quite slim. That was evident by the nutrient potion the boy was now brewing under his supervision.

Really, the boy had been quite pleasant this term, other than his insubordination on that first day of class with the incident with Malfoy. His question had been quite pointed too. No, he would not have believed him without the statement from the mediwitch. Actually his whole plan had been positively Slytherin. Wait, this was Harry Potter he was thinking about. There could not have been a plan at all. He must have just thought it up on the spur of the moment not knowing what was going to happen. The boy had no sense of self-preservation.

It still did not explain why he gave him three GALLONS of the basilisk venom. The stuff was practically priceless. The last time there had been any on the market was several hundred years ago. The supply currently available had all been harvested from one found in Egypt in the 1600s. It was more valuable than gold. The small stock he had on hand had been a gift from the Potions Master he had studied under after he left Hogwarts.

Severus reached over to the table and picked up the two books he had gotten from Slytherin's library. As far as he could determine, both books had been so long out of print that there were no references in anything he had read to indicate their existence. The wealth of knowledge in that one room was priceless, yet the boy had made sure to have all of the heads of house there to share in the find as well as the Queen of Books. That must have been the wolf's doing. Or possibly the Director of the DMLE. Her presence was definitely unexpected. Oh to find out what THAT connection was all about. What surprised him most of all was that he hadn't invited the know-it-all bookworm to view the find. Trouble with the Golden Trio perhaps?

With those thoughts circling around in his mind, Severus took himself to bed, only to have the ghost of Lily invade his sleep reminding him of how poorly he had treated her son.


	38. Wrapping Up

**A/N: I do not allowing Guest reviews. Please sign in before posting or your review will be deleted.  
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38\. Wrapping up

When Harry and Remus went into the Chamber Sunday morning it was a very different sight. The body of the basilisk was gone, only the mouth skeleton remained. Devoid of skin and meat, the basilisk mouth was still very intimidating. Some of the fangs were a foot in length while some were only a few inches. The one that Harry had pulled out of his arm a few months previous was about six inches long. They saw Darmok supervising the last of the packing up of the remainder of the beast.

"Good morning, Darmok."

"And to you as well Mr. Potter. Mr. Lupin."

"You were able to get most of the basilisk harvested apparently," stated Remus.

"With no interruptions it was easy to keep the men on task. It should only take a few more hours to finish, depending on how easily the fangs are able to be removed. We must be very careful to avoid any nicks or cuts or it could be fatal. Even though there is no longer a source of venom, there is some still stored in the fangs."

"Could I have a couple of the small ones? Maybe five?" asked Harry.

"Of course. I will see that they are properly packaged for you and will have them waiting for you when we are ready to leave."

"Would it be possible for you to place them and the skin in my vault?"

"Certainly."

"Is there anything else you require of us?" asked Remus.

"No. We should be complete by mid-morning. Noon at the latest unless there is a complication we have not foreseen."

"We will check on you then. If you need anything before, please have Dobby find us."

The pair climbed back up the stairs and had a late breakfast. The castle was slow to wake up on Sundays with many of the students opting for more of a brunch than a true breakfast. The elves were used to this routine and were happy to adjust their menu to that type of schedule. Harry found Hermione and the twins at the Gryffindor table.

"Ron still asleep?"

"You mean our brother…"

"…..Who lives to eat…"

"….But doesn't come down for breakfast…"

"…Unless dragged out of bed?"

Harry laughed, "Yeah, that git."

"Still in bed," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

Harry pulled his vial of potion out of his pocket and quickly drank it down, then dug into a decent breakfast. He was getting more comfortable eating larger meals now and had begun putting on weight. He still had a month before his checkup with Madam Pomfrey to gain some more. Hopefully he could stop the potions then, but knowing the Mediwitch as he did, he wasn't going to bet on it. He'd probably still be taking them at the end of the term knowing her.

Once they had completed breakfast, Harry and Hermione headed to the dungeons to brew his potion since they hadn't had time the previous day. Harry had tried to get Hermione to go ahead and take care of her own studies but she said she enjoyed this. She even thought about asking the dour professor if she could try some of the other healing potions Madam Pomfrey used. When they entered the classroom they found Professor Snape doing a delicate dance between three simmering cauldrons.

"If you could gather your own ingredients today, I have another commitment."

"Sure, Professor. Is there anything we can help you with?" asked Harry.

"I believe I have everything under control but I would appreciate it if you would remain quiet. Interrupting my concentration could prove disastrous for us all."

With that, Hermione began gathering what they needed while Harry cleaned his used vials. By the time he was done, Hermione had all of the ingredients they needed and was preparing them. Harry joined in quietly and they had everything set up. The actual brewing moved along quickly and soon their cauldron had a nice blue potion bubbling happily. Hermione turned off the flame to allow it to cool.

"We're done, Professor," said Harry.

"Very good. Miss Granger, if you could slice this gnarlroot for me and Mr. Potter if you could crush those moonstones into a powder I would appreciate it." Both teens looked at each other questioningly, but moved over to the Professor's work stations to lend a hand.

"Mr. Potter, can you tell me what potion I am making?"

"Well, it looks like a calming drought, Professor."

"Very good. Miss Granger, what ingredient governs the strength?"

"Valerian root, Professor."

"And if I want to make a standard Calming Drought, how much valerian root should I use?"

"The book states ten ounces."

"Yes, that is what the book states, but what do you think?"

"Ten ounces is a bit heavy for a standard strength. Eight would be better, otherwise you risk having the person fall asleep."

"Ten points to Gryffindor. That is exactly the recipe I use. What is the function of the gnarlroot, Mr. Potter?"

"Uh, ummm, it acts as a muscle relaxer, sir?"

"Are you asking me or telling me, Mr. Potter?"

"Telling, sir."

"You are correct."

Just as Severus was about to ask another question, there was a soft 'pop' and Dobby appeared in the classroom.

"Harry, sir," said Dobby, "the Goblins say they be done. I've told Master Wolfie and he told me to get you. He said he'd meet you at the entrance."

Severus had to bite back a chuckle at the elf calling Lupin 'Master Wolfie.'

"Thanks Dobby! I'll pack up and be there soon."

Severus conjured up a box with seven places to hold the vials. "Your elf can take them to your dormitory safely with this."

"Thank you sir! Last chance to go down into the Chamber before we close it again," he looked around but nobody showed an interest.

Remus was waiting for him at the door to the bathroom. Apparently there had been attempts to gain access to it as the security troll was now standing outside the door and glaring at anyone who came by. He had passed several first years running away as if they feared for their life. The troll moved away from the door long enough to let them pass then moved back into place. Darmok was waiting for them.

"We have completed our task here. If you would escort us out. Griphook will contact you with the details for disposition."

"Certainly. Let me let the Headmaster know you are leaving the castle," said Remus. He flicked his wand and a silvery wolf appeared. Remus gave it instructions and it ran off quickly.

"What was that?"

"It's the _Patronus_ Charm, Harry. It has several uses besides combating dementors. One of them is to act as a messenger."

"Can you teach it to me?"

"It is possible. We'll discuss it later. Darmok, if you and your group will follow us. Harry, if you'll lead, I'll bring up the rear."

Once the group had made it to the top and outside of the bathroom, Remus stayed with Harry long enough to close the entrance again. When they got to the Entrance Hall, Dumbledore was there to meet them.

"I take it you have completed your work in the Chamber."

"Yes, Headmaster," said Harry.

"Remus, if you will show them to the front gate."

"Of course, Headmaster."

Harry went with Remus as they walked across the lawn. There were quite a number of students on the grounds and almost all of them paused to stare at the group of goblins leaving the castle. At the front gate, Harry paused to thank the goblins for their work.

"Thank you all for your work these two days."

"It has been profitable to work with you."

Harry and Remus both shook the hands of all of the goblins present - they knew that showing them respect was the best way to earn it themselves.

Harry and Hermione decided to go to the library and do their homework after lunch. He went up to the dorm to get his book bag to find Ron in a chess match with one of the upper years.

"Hi Harry. Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah. Hermione and I are going to the library to do homework afterwards. Want to join us?"

"Probably. Have you finished the essay for Charms yet?"

"No, I've been too tied up with the basilisk. That's the first thing on my list and then Ancient Runes. "

Harry took a quick lunch before going to the library. Hermione was already there surrounded by the ever-present pile of books.

"Which class are you working on?"

"Arithmancy. Professor Vector has us looking at the structure of levitation charms. She was asking us to look at how changes to the analysis of the wand movement effects the efficacy of the spell."

"Hermione, speak English!"

"She wants us to look and see if we can make the wand movements smaller. You know how the swish and flick works. Well if we can make the swish part smaller, it would be more efficient and possibly easier to learn."

"I'll leave you to that. I'll take Charms any day. I'm glad you decided to drop Muggle Studies and Divination. You'd be absolutely bonkers by now."

"After Professor Trelawney predicted your death even without you there, it was evident she wasn't much better than a street performer. Muggle Studies is decades behind current day. They haven't updated the class since before your parents were students. There is so much they should be teaching, especially about current technology."

Harry knew he needed to stop Hermione before she spent the next fifteen minutes on how she would change the class. "Well, we can still take the OWL without taking the class. No need to waste time needlessly."

Harry pulled out his Charms book and some parchment. This was one of the spells that he'd gone over with Remus and Sirius while checking out his power issues. They'd had a discussion on it and how he could moderate his power. He'd brought the supplemental book they'd given him from the Potter Library for the additional information he was going to use. He'd talked to Professor Flitwick about the practice he'd already done so he was going to be adding a part on how you could moderate the spell. Flitwick had called it "attenuation". Harry was half way through the essay when Ron finally showed up.

"Harry, you're getting to be like Hermione!" Hermione glared at him, "Oh, no offense Hermione. I'm just not used to seeing Harry surrounded by books."

"Well, most of them are Hermione's."

"Yeah, mate, but still. You've never spent this much time on homework before."

"I've never had Sirius and Remus watching my grades either, not to mention my parents."

"Oh, yeah. There is that."

Ron pulled out his books and started on his work. Harry quickly wrapped up his essay and moved on to his Ancient Runes homework. They were really just getting into it and were learning the differences in the uses of runes.

Ron's short attention span quickly showed itself, "So did you finish your Charms essay, mate?"

"Yeah, it's all done."

"Can I look at it?"

"You can, but it won't help you much."

"Why not?"

"Well, my topic isn't exactly the same is yours, remember? Because of the power issue, he has me writing more about what I need to do to adjust how I cast it."

"But that's not fair to you to make you do more work than the rest of us! Is he giving you extra credit?"

"Not that I know."

Before Ron could get wound up, Hermione interrupted, "Ronald! I'm sure having Harry do something a little more towards what he needs to know right now is much better for him. Just because you can't copy his essay doesn't mean Professor Flitwick is being unfair to Harry."

They went back to their work, but a few minutes later Ron interrupted again, "So what about Herbology? Have you finished it?"

"No, I was going to work on it after dinner. I read the chapter but haven't gotten to the essay yet."

"How about you, Hermione?"

"I finished it after we left the dungeons."

"Well, can I look at yours?"

"I left it in my room."

Ron was starting to get upset that his friends weren't helping him with his homework anymore. How did they expect him to get decent grades if they didn't help him? That's what friends were for, right?

Harry looked at Hermione knowing they were thinking the same thing - Ron was going to have to get used to the new Harry and learn to stand on his own two feet. Neither teen was sure how to explain it to him, though. He probably needed to talk to Remus about it.

After another half an hour, Ron gave up, "I'm going back to the dorm. Want to play some chess Harry?"

"Maybe after dinner. I have to turn this essay in tomorrow."

Ron left in a huff.

"You can't keep pushing him away, Harry. You're going to have to talk to him."

"Me? What about you?"

"Well, we both will, but he's used to spending more time with you."

Harry sighed deeply, "I know, but I'm not sure how to approach him. There's just been so many things going on since the start of term that I haven't really had time to think about how it's all affecting Ron. I'm going to have to talk to someone for advice. I don't think he's quite forgiven me for ditching Divination and it doesn't help that you've dropped it now too."

"He can't keep depending on us to do his work for him."

"Do you want to explain it to him?"

"I guess not."

The pair continued their work quietly until it was close to dinner time then took their books back to their dorm.


	39. Wizengamot

**A/N: I know this is a short little chapter, but it sets the groundwork for some of the upcoming chapters. Thanks to everyone who's voted in my poll. I made a little adjustment to the options yesterday based on some feedback that I've gotten.**

39\. Wizengamot

September 30th was a cloudy day in London. Sirius took the floo to the Ministry. He was in what he called "full pureblood" mode. Head held high, shoulders back, slight sneer on his face. It was an attitude of "I'm important; don't mess with me." Many people still had a slight fear of him from his wrongful incarceration in Azkaban which also worked to his benefit. He passed through the security checkpoint with ease then took the lifts to the chambers used by the Wizengamot. He had sent a formal notice to the Clerk of the Wizengamot the previous week that, as the new Head of House Black, he intended to assume the Black seat pursuant to the right of succession. He'd had a brief discussion with Augusta Longbottom, who was taking great delight in another blow to the Chief Warlock's power base, about what business was currently on the Wizengamot's calendar so he wouldn't be caught completely unawares.

He entered the chambers to see a small crowd of people milling around. Once he assumed his seat he would be provided with the formal plum robes used by the members. He strode over to Augusta to pay his respects.

"Madam Longbottom, a pleasure to see you again," Sirius bowed formally.

"Lord Black, you as well. Are you ready to become the main event of the morning?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be, but the real question is whether they are ready for me. If they are expecting me to fall along the lines of the previous Black members they are in for a major surprise."

"It will help keep them on their toes. They have become too complacent in recent years. A little chaos is a good thing. Did you tell our Chief Warlock you were attending today's session?"

"No, and I don't intend to let him know about anything I'm doing. He's about to be in for several major surprises."

"Would one of those surprises happen to be your guardianship of your godson?"

Sirius smiled, "However did you learn of that?"

"Let's just say I have contacts within the Ministry that are much better than those the Chief Warlock thinks he has. Let me be the first to congratulate both of you. It's about time something good happened to that poor boy. He looked dreadful at the will reading."

"Well he is doing much better now. I had to go to Hogwarts on another matter this past weekend and he seems to have settled into the new school year rather well."

"I look forward to spending time with him during the summer holidays."

The crowd had started to take their seats. Sirius took one where he could easily move from when he assumed his Wizengamot seat. Cornelius Fudge had just entered the room. He took one look at Sirius and turned in the opposite direction, making some pretense of talking to his assistant instead. Shortly afterwards, Albus Dumbledore entered, walking around the room and speaking to various members like the true politician he tried to pretend he wasn't. By the time the clock struck ten, everyone was assembled.

Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore banged his gavel down and said, "The Wizengamot is now in session. All ye who have business before this body rise and state your case. Before we begin, does the Clerk have any new notices that need to be published since the last meeting?"

The Clerk stood, "Chief Warlock, Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, one notice has been received since the previous meeting. Lord Sirius Black has served notice to the Clerk that he intends to assume the Black seat on the Wizengamot which has been vacant since the death of Arcturus Black. The goblins have certified that he is, in fact, the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Is Lord Black present?"

Sirius stood and said, "I am."

Before the Clerk could begin the oath process, Albus interrupted, "Sirius, so good to see you again. While I understand your desire to put your life back in order, is it wise at this time to take on such an important role? I would think you would need a bit more time to recover."

"Chief Warlock I am quite well as the healers at St. Mungo's will be happy to attest. Now if we can get on with this," said a very irritated Sirius Black.

Albus sighed, "Very well." Then nodded to the Clerk to continue.

"Lord Black, if you will take the Oath now."

Sirius stood, "I, Sirius Orion Black, as Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, assume the position of the House of Black on the Wizengamot. I swear on my life and magic to represent the House in honesty and integrity in all matters before this body. So mote it be." A yellow light briefly flashed around him and then died. A chair in the body of the Wizengamot glowed yellow to match the colour of the aura around Sirius. He walked over to it and sat. A parchment with the day's business popped onto the desk in front of him. Those in his immediate area reached over to welcome him.

Dumbledore then proceeded to go through the agenda. Most of the matters were relatively trivial and required no real discussion. Of course there was the usual posturing for those trying to impress others of their importance. Finally coming to the end, he asked if there was any new business. As he was about to raise his gavel to close the meeting, he was interrupted.

"I have an issue for the Wizengamot," said Sirius.

"Of course, Lord Black, please continue."

"The Ministry had offered a 10,000 galleon reward for my arrest. Since that was not necessary, I would like to see the reward given to those who captured Peter Pettigrew. I propose that the reward money be split between Remus Lupin and the Weasley family."

Augusta Longbottom quickly added, "I agree with Lord Black's proposal. The ultimate goal of the reward was the capture of the Potters' betrayer which is what happened."

Lucius Malfoy interrupted, "The Weasleys just happened to be housing Pettigrew. They had no real participation in his capture. The DMLE actually captured him and as such, there should be no reward given."

Tiberius Ogden and Griselda Marchbanks provided supporting comments for Sirius while Patrick Parkinson supported Lucius Malfoy. When the noise got too much for him, Albus banged his gavel down to bring order back into the room.

"Well, it seems this is an interesting topic of discussion. Perhaps we should table it until our next meeting so that everyone has a chance to examine it further," said Dumbledore, hoping it would get forgotten in the month's time.

Madam Longbottom responded, "I do not see what there is to examine. We authorized the reward for the capture of the Potters' betrayer. The fact that it was initially for the wrong person has no bearing. We should reward those responsible for the capture of the real criminal. I say we vote on it now."

Dumbledore looked around the chamber quickly. Apparently everyone was agreeing that a vote should be taken now instead of later.

"Very well. All those in favor of rewarding Remus Lupin and the family of Arthur Weasley for the capture of Peter Pettigrew please signify by raising your hand." He looked around and counted roughly three quarters of the hands raised. "All opposed please raise your hand," This time the remaining ten members, all friends of Lucius Malfoy, raised their hands.

"The Clerk will ensure the appropriate funds are transferred to the Weasley and Lupin vaults. Now, if there is no further business," expectantly looking around only to be interrupted by Augusta Longbottom.

"Chief Warlock, I believe we should also take up the matter of compensation for Lord Black for his illegal incarceration in Azkaban. I have done a bit of research into the matter to help us determine an appropriate amount. Lord Black was an Auror prior to this unfortunate incident. Had he remained free, he would have received a bit more than 100,000 galleons in the intervening twelve years. I believe treble damages are in order for this egregious miscarriage of justice and move that the Wizengamot compensate Lord Black in the amount of 300,000 galleons."

"Thank you Madam Longbottom. I will open the floor up for discussion on this matter," said Dumbledore.

Quite a few members of the Wizengamot were more than anxious to support Augusta in this matter, some even recommending more. In this case, Lucius wisely remained silent. The vast number of owls and howlers Cornelius had received upon the exoneration of Black had been considerable; all in favor of a substantial repayment for this gross error. Sirius also remained silent since it would be quite improper for him to have an input. By the time the discussion was done, the final amount of compensation agreed to was 400,000 galleons to be paid immediately.

When the meeting finally adjourned, Sirius was surrounded by quite a few members of the Wizengamot. Some were old friends of the Black family trying to see if it was true that this Lord Black was a champion of the Light. The majority were former members of the Potter alliance hoping they had scored a coup by having one of the more powerful members now on their side.

As they were walking out of the chambers, Augusta said to him, "Well this was a most auspicious beginning."

"You haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until next month," Sirius replied with a deadly glint in his eyes.


	40. Hogsmeade

**A/N: I join the Potterverse in mourning the death of Alan Rickman. Whatever you may think about Severus Snape, Mr. Rickman portrayed him brilliantly. Thanks to all who participated in my poll about Dumbledore. I think I know what I'm going to do now.**

 **Disclaimer: I haven't posted this in a while, but I don't own anything Harry Potter. Those rights belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them to play for a while.**

40\. Hogsmeade

The next two weeks were busy for everyone. Harry and his friends were now fully into the term with homework occupying a lot of their free time. Harry also had Quidditch practice. Oliver Wood was even more obsessed about extra practice. Rather than having DADA class the day before and after the full moon, Remus gave an extra homework assignment to cover the materials. Potions had become less stressful now that Harry knew Snape was usually putting on an act. Remus had been handing back his real Potions homework assignments along with his DADA papers so no one would be the wiser. The first Hogsmeade weekend was coming up on the 9th and all of the third years were looking forward to their first visit to the magical town.

Harry and Sirius had been talking through their mirrors about making the guardianship public. They both agreed to throwing Rita Skeeter a bone and allowing her to interview them for the _Daily Prophet_. Hopefully this would keep her placated for a while. They agreed to meet at the Three Broomsticks at noon. Sirius had arranged for a private parlor upstairs.

The three friends went to Honeyduke's first. Harry and Ron got a sampling of goods. Hermione spotted some toothflossing stringmints to send to her parents, but otherwise wasn't as impressed with the sweets store as the boys. Their next stop was Zonko's joke shop. The boys got a nose-biting teacup and some hiccup sweets. They also went to see the Shrieking Shack where Remus had stayed on the full moon while he was a student. While the news that Remus was a werewolf was common knowledge, the role of the Shrieking Shack was not. Just before noon they made their way over to The Three Broomsticks. While his friends went to find themselves a table, Harry went upstairs to meet Sirius and Rita Skeeter.

When Harry entered the room, Sirius rose and gave him a quick hug.

"Harry, I'd like to introduce you to Rita Skeeter. As you know, she's a reporter for the _Daily Prophet_. She wants to talk to us a bit. I've told her that if she asks a question we aren't comfortable answering that she will not just make something up to fill the spot. She's also not going to use a "Quick Quotes" quill."

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"It's a quill that's charmed to take down what's spoken, however they have been known to embellish the information given," giving Rita a stern look.

"Oh, OK."

Sirius discreetly pressed a button and a light lunch appeared on the table before them.

"Now, before you start asking questions, let me give you the main reason we asked you here, Rita. I assumed full guardianship of Harry at the end of last month. There will probably be a few people who aren't happy about this but I believe I speak for Harry that we are both thrilled." Sirius looked at Harry who was nodding his head in agreement.

"May I ask where you have been living since your parent's death? It has been the biggest mystery since you killed You-Know-Who."

"With my aunt and uncle. They're both muggles. My aunt was my mother's sister."

"Surely you can give us more than that, Harry."

Sirius took the question, "It is best for their safety that we not provide any more information than that. There are still probably a few of Voldemort's followers who would like that information."

Rita squeaked when Sirius said 'Voldemort'.

"Sirius, may I call you Sirius?"

"No, you may not," glared Sirius.

"Ah, yes. Have you found a place to live yet?"

"I have a family home in London while Harry has several properties owned by the Potters. We have not decided exactly where we will live just yet, but rest assured that we will not be advertising it to the whole wizarding world. Again, Harry's safety is my priority."

"You said that there might be some people who wouldn't be happy about you gaining guardianship of Harry, Lord Black. Could you elaborate further?"

"I'd prefer not to name names at this time. I suspect you will be able to figure that out once your article is published."

"Oh! A man of mystery. I'm sure my readers will like that! Are there any other mysteries I should tell my readers about? Any special witch in your life, Harry?"

Harry spluttered, "I'm only thirteen!"

"Yes, well, you're never too young to start in the magical world. Lord Black are you considering a betrothal contract for your ward? I'm sure there are quite a few families with eligible witches who would love to have him marry their daughter."

"As Harry said, he's just thirteen. He will be the one to decide who he wants to marry when he wants to marry. I will not force him into an arrangement he is not happy with."

"Of course not. Harry, what is your favorite class at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know. I guess Defense, but I just started Ancient Runes this year and it's really interesting."

"I hear you play on your house Quidditch team."

"Yes Ma'am, I'm the seeker."

"I heard someone say you are the youngest seeker in over a hundred years. How do you feel about that?"

"Well, I don't really know about the history part, I just love playing."

"So what kind of broom do you fly?"

"I've got a Nimbus 2000."

"What? Not a 2001 or a Firebolt? I'd think you would have the top of the line broom."

"I'm quite happy with my Nimbus 2000. No reason to buy a new one."

"I see. You're quite modest. I'm sure our readers will like to hear that. My question for the both of you, since I wasn't really able to get it answered before is, what are your thoughts about the arrest and conviction of Peter Pettigrew?"

Sirius answered first, "I'm glad the rat was finally caught and got what he deserved. I only wish that I'd caught him that day he disappeared and then Harry and I would have been together then."

"And you, Harry?"

"I feel the same way. I'm just glad that the real person has been caught and everyone knows what the truth is."

"What about your proposal in the Wizengamot last month awarding the reward money to Remus Lupin and the Weasleys, Lord Black?"

"I felt it right that they be compensated for their effort. If Pettigrew had taken up with another family we might not have ever figured out what really happened."

"What are your plans, Lord Black, now that you are free?"

"My main concern is for Harry and making sure he has the home he deserves. I have quite a few business matters of my own to work through. My family affairs are in quite a disarray after many years of inattention. Other than that, I have no current plans."

"You were an Auror before your capture. Have you considered returning to that position?"

"I haven't talked with Amelia at all about that. I have many other things on my priority list at the moment. It's much too soon to be thinking about it."

"Can you tell me what some of those priorities might be?"

"Not at this time. As I said, my affairs are in quite a disarray so I am currently determining what they all entail."

"At Peter Pettigrew's trial, Remus Lupin stated he was the Steward for the Potter family. How do you feel about having a werewolf managing your affairs, Harry?"

"I think it's brilliant! He's been really helpful to me. I'm learning a lot about my family's heritage from him as well as what I need to do to manage things myself when I am old enough."

"Aren't you afraid of him?"

"Why should I be? He's a werewolf one day out of the month, but he's a wizard every day. He's been the best DADA professor I've had since I've been at Hogwarts too."

"Apparently you were good friends with him at Hogwarts, Lord Black. How do you feel about having him manage your godson's affairs?"

"James and Lily couldn't have picked a better person. Remus always was the better student."

"When did you learn he was a werewolf?"

"We figured it out in our third year. It never made a difference to us. That's why we all became animagi; so we could be with him during the full moon. Werewolves have no effect on animals; just humans. Being with him helped to keep him calm."

Rita was getting frustrated at this point. All of the controversial points she had thought about were being swiftly answered and swept away as unimportant.

"Harry, what do you think your parents would say if they were here?"

Harry suppressed a snicker thinking about their painting, "I think they'd be really happy for me. They wanted Sirius to take care of me if they couldn't. It's finally happening."

Sirius jumped in at that point, "I think you have enough information, Rita. Is there anything else you were wanting to ask?"

"I think that's all. My story will be in tomorrow's _Daily Prophet_. Thank you both for meeting with me."

Once she was safely out of the room, both Sirius and Harry let out a big sigh of relief.

"Well, that's over with, pup. Too bad I won't be able to see the Headmaster's reaction to tomorrow's paper. You'll have to let me know."

"Well, I'm sure I'll hear about it pretty quickly."

"Whatever happens, do not let him get you alone. Make sure you have Minerva or Remus with you. Even Snape would be better. I'm going to set up a meeting with him, probably after your Quidditch match. It will be a warm-up to the next Wizengamot meeting. Now, why don't we get you back with your friends."

The pair went back down the stairs into the main room of The Three Broomsticks. They looked over the crowd, finding Hermione and Ron in a booth near the far left wall. Sirius spent a few minutes talking with the pair then went to the floo and back to London.

Hermione was bursting with questions, "So what was Rita Skeeter really like?"

"Nosy. She really wanted to see what kind of dirt she could dig up, but Sirius wouldn't let her."

"So what did she ask you? Did she say anything about Sirius' visit to the paper?"

"Slow down, Hermione. No, she didn't mention that visit. As for what she asked, well, you get the paper. You can read it tomorrow," Harry said with a sly grin.

"Oi, mate! You're really going to get her wound up now!" said Ron. Hermione slapped him on the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"What do you think?"

Aiming to stop another fight between the pair, Harry suggested they go back out into Hogsmeade. Hermione still needed to visit Scrivenshaft's for a few more quills - she'd already broken several of the ones she'd gotten in Diagon Alley. Once they finished their shopping, they made their way back to the castle. With the Hogsmeade weekend, Quidditch practice had been cancelled. Professor Snape had moved their potion brewing to Sunday morning as well. Hermione took her purchases up to her dorm room and returned with her books to work on her Arithmancy homework. Harry and Ron pulled out their wizard chess set and played a few games before dinner. While Ron tried to get him to play after dinner, Harry spent the evening catching up on homework. Ron kept giving him dagger stares throughout the evening. Harry knew he would have to talk to Ron, but he kept putting it off.


	41. Announcements and Confrontations

41\. Announcements and Confrontations

Sunday morning was a cloudy day in northern Scotland. It wasn't raining, but the clouds looked prepared to dump their load of water any time. Harry tried to get Ron to go with him to breakfast, but he just groaned and turned back over. Hermione was waiting for him in the common room. Harry was nervous and barely nibbled on a piece of toast while waiting on the post owls to arrive. Hermione huffed and put some eggs on his plate, giving him a pointed glare. Harry kept looking up at the head table. Remus knew the article was going to appear today so he was there in support of Harry. Professor McGonagall was there as well. She noticed Harry looking at her and gave him a quick smile. Professor Dumbledore was in his seat eating his breakfast. Just then, the post owls flew in. One flew toward Hermione, delivering her copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Right there on the front page was a picture of Harry and Sirius taken from when they were at the Ministry for the announcement of Sirius' innocence.

 _Sirius Black now Guardian of Boy Who Lived_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _In an exclusive interview with this reporter, Sirius Black announced that he is now the legal guardian of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. The guardianship was formalized at the end of September but the announcement was delayed to allow them to announce it together as this was a Hogsmeade weekend for the Hogwarts students._

 _I asked Harry who he had been living with prior to this and he indicated his maternal aunt and uncle. Both are Muggles. He declined to provide me with their name or address saying he feared for their safety._

 _Lord Black said he is currently living in London at a family property. When asked if he planned to resume his career as an Auror he did not rule it out. He said his top priority is seeing to his godson's needs and getting his affairs in order. At the last meeting of the Wizengamot, Lord Black assumed the long empty Black seat. One wonders which direction that seat will now take. If his one vote is any indication, the dark path previously taken by the Black family is over._

 _Harry appears to be quite happy with this new arrangement. Not only does he have his godfather to care for him, he also has a long-time family friend, Remus Lupin, taking care of the Potter affairs as the Potter Steward. While the news of Mr. Lupin's being a werewolf took the wizarding world by surprise, Harry described the man as "Brilliant." I asked several other students about their impression of their new Defense professor. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy and classmate of Harry, stated that it was just another in a series of incompetent instructors in that course. Susan Bones, another classmate and niece of DMLE Director Amelia Bones, said that she had learned more in the month he's been a professor than she learned all of last year. Last year's professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, is currently residing in the long term spell damage ward at St. Mungo's._

 _Harry, star seeker on his house Quidditch team, denied any current romantic interests. Lord Black also denied any current or potential marriage contracts for his new ward. Unlike many of the pureblood families, he stated that it would be up to his godson to determine who he wished to marry. We know he has been frequently seen in the company of one Hermione Granger, a muggleborn witch. As Harry's mother was also a muggleborn, it would not be a stretch to see that relationship blossom._

 _For now we wish Lord Black and Harry well. We expect much more from this pair in the future._

Hermione threw the paper down in a huff. "How dare she!"

"Calm down, Hermione. You know how she loves to gossip. I just wonder who gave her that information. Probably Malfoy."

"You know we're never going to live this down," she said, looking around the room at the others. She saw Draco over at the Slytherin table, but he was paying no attention to them.

"If I could live down being the Heir of Slytherin, you can live this down. So, how is the Headmaster taking this. I'm afraid to look up there."

Hermione took a quick glance at the head table, "Well, there's a large frown that seems to be getting deeper and deeper. Remus is trying to hold back a laugh. Professor McGonagall keeps looking between the two."

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore pushed back his chair and quickly left the Great Hall. Sure that it was now safe to look up there, Harry saw that there was now a big grin on Remus' face. Remus nodded to him then resumed his conversation with Professor McGonagall.

Harry and Hermione left for the dungeons shortly after. Professor Snape was sitting at his desk grading papers when they arrived. Their ingredients were already laid out for them.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger."

"Good Morning, Professor Snape," they both said.

"You do realize, Mr. Potter, that twisting the tail of a dragon will only get you burned."

"Yes sir, but he would find out sooner or later. Better to get it out now. Sirius said he was going to meet with the Headmaster after the first Quidditch match. I think he plans to have a crowd with him when he does."

"I suspect that will be an interesting and potentially entertaining meeting. Carry on."

This had become a carefully orchestrated dance between the two students. By the time Harry finished cleaning out the used vials, Hermione had the ingredients prepared. The two worked seamlessly to actually brew the potion. Once it was ready to cool, they notified the professor. He did not have anything for them to do while they waited so they talked quietly about their Ancient Runes homework. Once the time was up, they bottled the potion, cleaned up their area and went back to the tower.

Harry took the vials and put them in his trunk. On the bed was a letter. He hadn't gotten anything from any of the post owls so he wondered how it could have gotten there. He carefully opened it. It was a note from Professor Dumbledore that he wished to speak with him after dinner tonight. Knowing he'd need support, he pulled out his mirror and requested both Sirius and Remus to join him.

"Hi pup! How's the fallout in the castle?"

"Dumbledore wants to see me after dinner."

"I suppose that's why you are making this a three-way conversation then?" asked Remus.

"Yeah. Do you want me to let Professor McGonagall know too?"

"I think Remus should tell her and let her decide if she wants to be there. It would probably be good if she was. I know the old coot can't use Legilimency on a werewolf, but I am concerned he might try with you. You do have your Heir ring on, right?"

"Yeah. I don't take it off like you told me."

"Good. Have you heard anything else about the article?"

"Well, Hermione's not too happy with it," both adults laughed at that, "but I haven't been around too many people yet to find out."

Remus responded, "Ah, that's right, you've been with Severus this morning. Did he have anything to say?"

"He said something about twisting the tail of a dragon and getting burned."

"Well, that's one way to put it, pup. Would you rather I meet with the Headmaster today rather than after the Quidditch match?"

Harry wasn't really sure what he wanted. He finally had adults who wanted to fight his battles for him. He didn't really want to see the Headmaster, but he didn't want to be seen as hiding behind his godfather's robes either. Evidently the indecision showed.

"Moony, why don't you meet me at the gate at six. I can wait in your office until Albus leaves the Great Hall then you can pick me up on your way to his office."

"I think that's a good idea, Padfoot. I will let Minerva know."

"Harry, this is what I'm here for. You don't have to fight Albus anymore. He has no control over you. I knew this confrontation was coming, but I had hoped it would wait until the 23rd and the Quidditch match. The closer to the next Wizengamot meeting, the better. Gerald has a meeting with Amelia this week to go over the charges we wish to prefer against him at the Wizengamot meeting on the 28th. I'm tempted to borrow your parents' portrait and let Lily have a go at him. We can save that for another time, if there is one. Are you going to be okay until then?"

"I guess so. I've got a lot of homework to do to keep me busy. I got some of it done yesterday evening, but I've still got more to do for tomorrow."

"Harry, why don't you and your friends use my classroom to study after dinner, then when we're done we won't have to come looking for you?" offered Remus.

"Sure. That sounds good."

They ended their conference and Harry went down to the common room. Hermione and Ron were waiting for him.

"Hey mate, you don't look too happy," said Ron.

"What happened, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Dumbledore wants to see me after dinner. There was a note on my bed."

"What's so bad about that?" asked Ron.

"What's bad, Ronald, is that he's going to ask Harry some uncomfortable questions and make it seem like it's a bad thing that Sirius is now his guardian. What are you going to do?"

"Sirius is going to meet with him. Remus is going with him and maybe Professor McGonagall. Remus said we could use his classroom to study in after dinner so they can find me when it's over."

"I think that's a very good plan, Harry," said Hermione, giving Ron a push.

"Yeah, right. That's better for you, isn't it?" said Ron

"I sure hope so."

The three friends went down to lunch. Harry started pushing his food around his plate until Hermione got his attention and told him to look at the Head Table. Remus was giving him a pointed look that said 'Eat, don't play with your food.' Once finished, the three got their books and went to the library. It was much quieter there and Harry wasn't in the mood to be around the crowd in the common room at the moment. Despite the distraction, he was able to complete his Potions and Transfiguration homework. That just left DADA for the evening and it was just reading. His Charms homework was also reading but it was one of the spells he'd learned during the holidays so he just needed to refresh his memory. Ron didn't bother him about studying so much; Hermione must have said something to him.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Remus was the last staff member to arrive, but he gave a quick nod to let Harry know Sirius was there. All too soon the Headmaster stood and departed. Using that as a signal, Harry, Ron and Hermione waited about five more minutes then took their books to the DADA classroom where Sirius was waiting. A few minutes after they'd arrived, Remus, Professor McGonagall and, surprisingly, Professor Snape entered the classroom.

"Now, you three stay here until we return. I don't want to have to track you down, once we're done. I strongly suspect the Headmaster will be one very unhappy man when we're through with him," said Sirius.

"I suggest you use a sticking charm, Black. These three aren't known for following directions," said Severus with his trademark sneer.

It was all Harry could do to not laugh at the man. He was starting to actually understand the man's sarcasm.

"I think we can trust them this time," giving them a pointed look.

All three teens nodded their heads in agreement. The adults quickly departed leaving a very quiet DADA classroom.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk contemplating the upcoming meeting with Harry Potter. While he knew the boy would probably not be alone, if his recent encounters were any indication, it would still be a pointed conversation about what was good for the young wizard. While Sirius Black wasn't the worst thing to happen to the boy, he needed to make sure he understood about the need to return to the Dursleys. Sirius could function as his magical guardian, but he still needed to live in the Muggle world. Too many plans depended on it.

He was brought out of his reverie by a knock on his door. Expecting to see Harry, he was surprised to discover three wizards and one witch waiting for his welcome.

"Enter."

When the crowd was in, he conjured an extra seat in front of his desk for the fourth person. He had expected to see Remus and Minerva, but Severus? And Sirius instead of Harry?

"Sirius, good to see you again. Minerva, Severus, Remus, what brings you here as well? I was not expecting you. I'm afraid I have another meeting scheduled. Perhaps we can find another time to get together?"

"Harry isn't coming. I'm here instead," said Sirius.

"While I understand your interest in his well-being, I did have a few things to talk with him about."

"Does it have to do with his school lessons or about my guardianship of Harry?"

"Perhaps a bit of both."

"Whatever you were planning to say to Harry you can say to me." Sirius was already getting a bit peeved at the Headmaster.

"Very well. I am concerned about your ability to be a good guardian for him. You've only been out of Azkaban for two months and you were in hiding one of those. I'm sure trying to manage a teenager at this time may be a bit more than you are prepared for."

"I am well aware of my responsibilities as Harry's godfather and guardian. I should have been taking care of him since his parents died. Instead I was packed off to Azkaban like a common criminal by Ministry officials too concerned about their image and not about what was right. If you want to debate that issue now, I'm more than happy to do so, Headmaster," Sirius said with a stare at Dumbledore, daring him to use _Legilimency_ on him. While Harry's Heir ring had some protection against mind magics, the Black Head Ring had quite a few very nasty protections on it.

"The Dursleys have been perfectly fine guardians for him up until now, so I do not see any need for a change for him. Harry needs the protection of the blood wards that can only be had by his living there."

Sirius gave the Headmaster a deadly glare, "The Dursleys are no longer his guardians in the Muggle world; I am. I have the paperwork with me if you would like to see it. And there are no 'blood wards' on the house. I don't know how you've managed to perpetrate that lie for so long, but it ends now!"

Remus was aware of that fact, but Minerva and Severus weren't. The other two professors had a look of stunned shock, but it was nothing compared to the look on Albus Dumbledore's face. How had Sirius discovered the lie he'd so carefully built over the years?

"I beg your pardon, Sirius. I'm sure you're mistaken about this. I placed the wards myself."

"Well, if you did place them at some point, they are gone now. I had the goblins check out the house AND THE DURSLEYS for wards and charms. Would you care to hazard a guess at what they found?"

Albus appeared to have aged twenty years after that statement. His posture drooped and the twinkle left his eyes. He took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"No. I am sure the goblins did a thorough job as they always do. So what is it you want, Sirius?"

"Let me lay it out for you so even you can understand, Albus. Harry was neglected and abused by Petunia, Vernon and Dudley Dursley the entire time they had him. He was treated no better than a house elf, doing all of their housework and cooking their meals; meals he was seldom allowed to share. His loving cousin thought nothing of using him for a punching bag for the neighborhood bullies. One of the main reasons he was treated so badly was because of an aversion charm put on them by YOU. The first time he knew anything about the magical world was when Hagrid came to take him to Diagon Alley. Did you know his Hogwarts letter was addressed to 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs'? For the first ten years he lived in there; he lived in a boot cupboard! Are these the kind of caring guardians you wanted for him? Oh, and let's not forget that you bound his magic AFTER he arrived here. This is a child that was performing accidental magic before he was a year old yet was performing only average in his courses? And just how 'safe' has Hogwarts been for him? Allowing an eleven year old student and two of his friends to chase after a teacher possessed by Voldemort's spirit! Your so-called 'safe' wards didn't pick that little tidbit up? Instead of chastising him for his foolishness, you award him points? I'm going to say this one time, and one time only; stay away from my godson! If you have a need to discuss something pertaining to his schoolwork, let Minerva or Remus know. One or both of them will accompany him. If I hear you have done otherwise, I will have you before the Board of Governors so fast you won't know what hit you. Now, do you have anything more you wish to say to me?"

"I'm sure there is no need for the legal proceedings to continue. Surely there is no need for the Muggle authorities to be involved, " said Albus trying to regain some control of the conversation.

"You would consider starving a child to the point of severe malnutrition that he requires a nutrient supplement for several months a proper guardianship, Headmaster?" inquired Severus.

"Harry's always been a fussy eater at the start of term, you know that Severus. Teenagers are known for their strange eating habits."

"The only reason Potter is a fussy eater at the start of term is that his relatives have starved him and he can't eat any more without sicking up. I have seen the medical report, Albus. Potter has been brewing the necessary potion in my dungeons since the start of term," drawled Severus.

"I was unaware Harry had been to see Madam Pomfrey this term."

"Since when have you cared about my lions going to the Hospital Wing, Albus?" asked Minerva.

"I care about all of my students as you know, Minerva."

Remus decided it was time to enter the fray, "Harry has not been to the Hospital Wing this term, Headmaster, other than the quick check up after the Dementor attack. He was given a thorough medical examination by a Gringotts healer. They are quite thorough, as you know. Additionally, a muggle doctor also confirmed the malnutrition." Remus didn't bother to tell him that the Muggle doctor was actually a dentist and Hermione's parents.

"I understand you are quite upset, Sirius, but surely things haven't gotten so dire as to go to the Board of Governors over these perceived issues."

"Don't test me and you won't find out just how dire things have gotten." With that, Sirius rose and departed the Headmaster's office. The other three professors waited a few stunned seconds then did likewise.

Sirius waited for the professors by the gargoyle. He knew he needed to calm down before he saw Harry again. He was glad he hadn't needed to show his full hand, but now the Headmaster knew some of the things he had been saving up to bring in front of the Wizengamot. He was relieved when the three others followed so quickly behind him.

Remus was the first to speak, "Well, that was interesting."

Sirius barked a laugh, "Is that what you call it? It was all I could do to stop myself from reaching over that desk and yanking the old man's beard!"

"While that would be quite entertaining, Black, I'm not sure how that would support your arguments," observed Severus.

"I'm sure you are correct," Sirius stopped and turned toward the dark haired professor, "Snape, you and I will probably never like each other, but thank you for what you are doing for Harry." He then put out his hand to shake. Severus looked down at it and thought for a moment before putting his out and shaking the other man's hand. "I'm not doing it for you, Black."

"I know. But thank you anyway."

"Minerva, I will need to take Harry for the day on Wednesday so that he may testify in the trial against the Dursleys."

"Of course, Sirius. Let me know when you plan to pick him up and I'll make sure he is available," said Minerva.

The Headmaster sat with his head in his hands. How could his plans go so badly awry? Evidently Sirius must have had contact with Harry prior to his exoneration of all charges against him. While he understood why Remus would have knowledge of the examination by the goblins, how did Minerva and Severus, of all people, also be aware of it? It appeared that all of his carefully laid plans had been blasted to bits. How had the three friends managed to become animagi without him knowing about it? If he had, then this could have all been avoided when Sirius was arrested. Too late to repair that now. He would have to sleep on it before determining a way to regain control of Harry. He looked over at the stand for his phoenix, Fawkes, and realized the bird was no longer there.

In the DADA classroom, Harry was trying to keep his mind on his DADA homework, but it just wasn't working. How could he read about lethifolds when Sirius was confronting Professor Dumbledore? Every time he looked at his friends it appeared they were watching him. Finally giving up the homework as a bad job, he shut his book loudly.

"I'm sure everything is fine, Harry," said Hermione.

"Yeah mate. That part of the castle hasn't blown up yet. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," added Ron.

"I know, but I'd rather be there, even though I don't really care to see Professor Dumbledore. I hate it when people talk about me behind my back."

"Well, worrying about it won't change it, you know," said Hermione.

"I know, Hermione. It still doesn't make it any easier," he opened his book back to where he'd left off reading.

All three teens were startled when there was a flash of red and gold, then Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, settled on Harry's shoulder.

Sirius and Remus returned to the DADA classroom. Minerva and Severus parted at the gargoyle to their respective offices. The two men chatted quietly on their way back. When Remus opened the door to the classroom he stopped abruptly when he noticed the phoenix resting on Harry's shoulder. Sirius bumped into him.

"Warn me when you plan to stop, Moony!" Remus quietly pointed his finger towards Harry and his new familiar.

"Well I'll be. When was the last time you heard of a phoenix abandoning their wizard before they died?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know, but I'm sure this won't go unnoticed by the rest of the school for very long once they find out that Fawkes has taken up residence in Gryffindor Tower."


	42. Justice for Harry

**A/N: I will admit I don't know exactly how the British justice system works. I did research this, especially concerning the results. Please be gentle with your criticism.**

42\. Justice for Harry

Remus was right; it didn't take very long for the whole school to find out Fawkes was now a permanent resident in the third year boys dorm of Gryffindor Tower. Harry had no idea how Fawkes' stand was there by the time they returned from the DADA classroom that night. Harry just assumed one of the house elves must have moved it. It was the first time most of his dorm mates had really had a chance to see the beautiful bird up close. It took a while for Harry to make his way to his dorm for the night.

Breakfast was an interesting affair that Monday morning. Before Remus had turned in for the night, he visited with Minerva to let her know of the latest event so that she wasn't surprised in the morning. She was also stunned by the latest revelation.

Fawkes had decided to spend the day on his perch and not travel around with Harry. He was sorry he wouldn't be able to continue watching his former wizard but the man had broken the last slender thread of trust he had in him. While he may still be considered "The Leader of the Light" to the wizarding community, to one phoenix, he was just another corrupt human.

Breakfast reached a very anticlimactic end when the Headmaster did not appear. That, too, caused quite a bit of comment, especially at the Head Table.

"This is a very interesting development, Remus," said Minerva.

"It is indeed. I would ignore it unless he avoids the Great Hall for more than one or two meals."

"I suppose I should go and check on him. I'll check with Poppy and see if there is anything wrong with him. If he doesn't come down for lunch I'll have her go and check on him."

Aurora Sinistra, the Astronomy professor, leaned over to Minerva, "So the rumor about Fawkes is true then?"

"Yes it is."

"Does anyone know what caused the bird to change allegiance?"

"There were several things going on last evening, but what the final reason was I doubt anyone will ever know."

The students quickly dispersed to their classes. Charms with the Ravenclaws and DADA with the Hufflepuffs were quite bearable. While there were few questions from his classmates, Harry again felt the eyes of the school upon him. He was finally getting to material in Charms that he had not practiced on before school started so he definitely needed his concentration. By the time they got to lunch, Harry was ready for a break before Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Again the Headmaster's absence was duly noted by many in the Hall.

Severus leaned over and said, "Well, Minerva, it appears you have been selected to check on the old man."

"So it appears. I checked with the elves and he did request breakfast in his office this morning. It is unfortunate that I have a free period next and can't put this off any longer."

After finishing her lunch, Minerva proceeded to the seventh floor entrance to the Headmaster's office. After giving the password to the gargoyle, she knocked at the Headmaster's door.

"Enter."

Minerva did and stood in front of the Headmaster's desk.

"Well, Albus, are you sitting in here sulking like one of my first years?"

"Minerva, my dear. Lemon drop? No. I just had some things that took up a bit of my time this morning. Nothing to worry about."

"Then I will expect to see you at dinner tonight."

"Perhaps.

"Don't 'perhaps' me Albus Dumbledore! You know very well what is going on and are hiding up here so you don't have to deal with it. Harry is having to deal with all of the whispering and staring at him so you might as well join him and take some of it off of him."

"Whatever do you mean, Minerva?"

"The whole school knows that Fawkes has taken up residence in the third year boys dormitory of Gryffindor Tower so you might as well come out of YOUR tower and deal with it. Nothing to be done about it now. I expect to see you at dinner." With that, she turned and left.

Wednesday morning had Harry waiting by the floo in Professor McGonagall's office. He was dressed in one of his pairs of dress trousers. He had worn one of his Hogwarts robes over it to avoid any questions from the rest of his friends at breakfast. Hermione and the Weasleys knew where he was going but he didn't need the rest of the castle knowing. Just then the floo flared and out stepped Sirius.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a crazy few days."

"When isn't it? Have things settled down yet?"

"I guess so."

Sirius turned to Minerva, "I don't know how long this will take today. I will probably bring him back after dinner. You do have your book bag?" Sirius asked Harry, giving a pointed glare.

"Yes," picking it up to show him.

"Good luck, Mr. Potter. I will see you this evening. Sirius, I expect you to ensure he has his work caught up before you return him."

The pair floo'd to Potter Hall first. Harry removed his robe and left it on the hook in the entryway. Sirius transfigured his outfit into a muggle suit.

"We're going to take a muggle taxi to the courthouse. While there is an apparition point nearby, no need to rub the Dursley's nose in it at this point if they happen to see us. Sandra will meet us there and go over what's going to happen. Are you ready for this?"

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready, but let's just get it over with."

It was a quiet ride to the courthouse. Sirius kept the conversation light, asking about his friends and how his classes were going. Rather than name the different classes, he asked about them by professor. All too soon they were there. Sirius paid the taxi driver and led him to the room Sandra had told him to go to. She was waiting there with another woman.

"Hello Harry. Good to see you again. This is Mrs. Blackmon. She will be the prosecutor for the case against the Dursleys. She's a squib. Everyone in the courtroom is aware of magic so there will be no violation of the Statute of Secrecy. Marcy, may I introduce you to Harry Potter. You remember Sirius Black from the custody hearing?"

"Good to finally meet you, Harry. Hello again, Mr. Black. I know this is going to be uncomfortable for you, but I will try to help you out. I'm going to ask you questions about your life with the Dursleys; things such as where you slept, what and how much you were fed, any medical care you did or did not receive. Sandra took quite a few photographs when she visited their house so I will show you some of those and ask you to identify them and what they mean. There is no problem mentioning Hogwarts, since, as I understand it, there was a change in your treatment when you received your letter. Now, once I'm done, the Dursleys' solicitor will be able to question you about anything I asked you about. Take your time answering. Any questions?"

"What will happen to them?"

"That will be up to the judge. We've gotten emergency custody of you and assigned it to Mr. Black. We expect him to make that permanent. As for the Dursleys, I can't say. I've seen many different outcomes over time."

They were escorted into the courtroom and to a seat near the front. The Dursleys were already in their seats. When Harry saw them, he felt nothing for the two people sitting at the defendant's table. After the judge entered and the charges read, Sandra was the first person called to the stand. She went over the information she had received from her counterpart at Scottish Social Services. She talked about the report she had received from the Grangers which corroborated the malnutrition in the doctor's report. She then discussed what was found at the Dursley residence, including the multiple locks on the door to Harry's room and the cat flap, the cupboard under the stairs as well as the fact there was no evidence that Harry even lived in the house if you went by the pictures of the Dursley family.

Constable Baker was the next person called. He recounted the events at the Dursley house, including the need to restrain Vernon. He was shown several photographs of the house and asked to elaborate on where they were taken. Finally it was Harry's turn.

"Harry, how long have you lived with the Dursley's?"

"About twelve years, Ma'am."

"How old were you when you were placed with them?"

"A little over a year old, at least that's what I've been told."

"Can you tell us what happened to cause you to come into the Dursley's care?"

"My parents were both killed and my aunt was the only living relative around at the time."

"What did the Dursleys tell you about your parents?"

"They were drunks and died in a car crash. I was the only one to survive."

"And what really happened to your parents?"

"They were killed by a mass murderer who was really trying to kill me."

"When did you find out about this?"

"When I was eleven."

"Did your aunt ever show you pictures of your mother or tell you anything about her?"

"No. The first time I even saw a picture of her and my dad was after my first year at Hogwarts. Hagrid, he's one of the staff members, made a photo album for me."

"While you were growing up, what were your household chores?"

"Keep the house clean, cook, tend the gardens, do the laundry, wash the car; pretty much everything."

"How old were you when you started doing these chores?"

"I think I started the dusting when I was about three. I started cooking when I was four. Probably about the same time I started doing the yard work too."

"Did your cousin Dudley ever help you with the chores?"

Harry had to bite back a laugh, "No Ma'am. Dudley didn't have any chores."

"What did he do while you were working?"

"When we were smaller he just sat around watching the telly."

"And later?"

"He was either watching the telly, playing on his computer or with his friends. Sometimes he'd go around and mess up what I'd just finished."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Well, one time Aunt Petunia was having her book club over and I'd just finished vacuuming the carpet. Dudley came in from outside and tracked mud all over it. I had to scrub it clean less than half an hour before the guests were expected."

"What happened to your cousin?"

"Nothing. He said I had done it."

"And did your aunt believe him?"

"Yes."

"What happened to you?"

"I was locked up in my cupboard for two days."

"This cupboard. Can you tell me more about it?"

"It's the cupboard under the stairs."

"Was that a normal punishment for you?"

"Well, I don't know if you could call it a punishment since I lived in there."

"I have several pictures here that I 'd like to show you, Harry. Could you identify them for me?"

"The first one is the cupboard under the stairs. This second one is the inside of it. The third one shows where I wrote 'Harry's Room' on the wall over the door."

"Can you tell me what's on the floor in the middle picture?"

"There's a mattress and a blanket."

"Do you recognize them?"

"Yes Ma'am. That's what I slept on."

"Did you write 'Harry's Room' on the wall?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"How old were you?"

"I think I was five. I'd just learned to write my letters."

"Was there a light in the cupboard?"

"No, Ma'am."

"So how did you see when it got dark?"

"I didn't. Sometimes there would be a bit of light that came in around the door, but it was pretty much dark the whole time."

"How long did you live in the cupboard under the stairs?"

"Until I turned eleven."

"Did anything in particular cause the change?"

"I got my Hogwarts letter."

Harry heard Vernon in the background shouting, "The little freak admits it!"

"Tell us what happened when your letter arrived."

"Before I could open it, Uncle Vernon took it away from me and wouldn't tell me what it was about."

"And what happened after that?"

"More letters kept coming. Uncle Vernon finally nailed the mail slot closed so they couldn't get in. When that didn't stop them, he gathered us all up and took us out in the country. The first night we stayed in a motel, but there were about a hundred letters waiting for us the next morning. He then drove around the countryside some more until he found a place that was on a rock out in the ocean to stay for the night."

"Then what happened?"

"It was personally delivered by a staff member."

Vernon shouted, "That giant THING broke the door down!"

"Counselor, restrain your client!" the judge admonished.

"Did anything change with your living arrangements?"

"Yes Ma'am. They gave me Dudley's second bedroom."

"Second bedroom? Please explain."

"Well there was Dudley's bedroom where he slept and played on his computer. His second bedroom was where he stored toys that he had broken or didn't work but didn't want to throw them away."

"When you moved to the new bedroom, were you allowed to play with any of the toys?"

"No Ma'am."

"Why?"

"They'd all been packed up and put in the attic."

"What was in the room?"

"There was a camp bed that I slept on. A second hand wardrobe they'd picked up from some refuse bin and an old desk and chair."

"I'm going to show you another picture. Please identify it for us."

"It's the door to Dudley's second bedroom."

"Can you describe it more for us?"

"Well, there are seven different locks and a cat flap. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes. When were the locks put on the door?"

"The summer between my first and second year at Hogwarts."

"What happened to cause this?"

"Well, a house elf got into the house and dropped Aunt Petunia's pudding on the head of Uncle Vernon's guests."

"Do house elves routinely visit you?"

"No Ma'am. This one was especially crazy."

"What was it doing there?"

"He was trying to warn me to not go back to Hogwarts because something dangerous was going to happen."

"Did your uncle tell you why he felt it necessary to put all the locks and the cat flap on the door?"

"He said he'd make sure I never went back to that freaky school again."

"What was the cat flap for? Did you have a cat?"

"No. That's how I got fed."

"Please explain."

"They would push my food through the cat flap when they wanted to feed me."

"And what did they feed you?"

"I usually got a tin of soup each day but I had to share it with my owl. They wouldn't let her go out and hunt at night."

"What if you needed to go to the bathroom?"

"They let me out in the morning and evening. I had to hold it otherwise."

"Did your uncle do anything else to your room?"

"He put bars on the window."

"I didn't notice any bars on the window when I visited. What happened?"

"Some of my friends from school came and broke me out. The pulled the bars off of the window and I was able to escape that way."

Vernon shouted, "The freak and his freaky friends damaged my house!"

"Let's turn to something else, since you touched on it. The medical report said you suffered from severe malnutrition. You just gave an example of your aunt and uncle giving you only a tin of soup per day. Did they often withhold food from you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"How often? Once a week, once a month?"

"It could be several days in a row but usually at least once a week."

"Just one meal?"

"No Ma'am. It was usually for a day or more at a time."

"Your medical report indicated you'd suffered a concussion. Can you tell us about it?"

"One morning I was frying up the bacon and I accidentally burned it. Aunt Petunia picked up another frying pan nearby and hit me with it."

"How old were you?"

"I think I was five. It was before I started primary school."

"Another thing on the medical report shows you had multiple broken bones. Please tell us how you got them. Start with your ribs, then your fingers and then your ankle if you would."

"Dudley and his gang were doing their favorite sport of 'Harry Hunting'."

"Excuse me, 'Harry Hunting'?"

"That's where they'd chase me around the neighborhood. When they caught me, they'd beat me up."

"Please continue."

"Well, I wasn't able to get away from them that time. They caught me and started punching and kicking me. I felt the ribs break. When I finally managed to get back to the Dursleys to tell Aunt Petunia, Dudley had beaten me there. When he saw me coming in the door, he slammed it on my hand. I think that's what broke my fingers. The ankle was broken when I had been cleaning upstairs and Dudley pushed me down the stairs."

"Was anything done to Dudley for these assaults?"

"No Ma'am."

"Did you receive any medical treatment?"

"No Ma'am."

"Did anything else happen?"

"Well, when I wasn't able to cook their dinner after Dudley broke my hand I was locked up in the cupboard for a week."

"How often did your Aunt take you shopping for new clothes?"

"Never. I always wore Dudley's old clothes that he'd grown out of."

"What about Christmas or birthday presents?"

"If I got anything for Christmas it was usually something like an old sock of Uncle Vernon's or a used tissue. I never got anything for my birthday."

"Not even a cake?"

"No Ma'am. It was just another normal day for them."

"Did the Dursleys ever give you a reason for their frugality?"

"They said freaks like me were expensive to keep. I was taking food out of Dudley's mouth. They didn't have enough money for new clothes for both of us."

"To your knowledge, did the Dursleys ever receive payments to support you?"

"I would have said no, but I discovered this summer that they had been receiving money from my parents' estate."

"Do you know how much this was?"

"According to my banker, they received about £50,000 over ten years."

Mr. Hawthorne stood up and objected, "There's no proof the Dursleys ever received a penny for the boy!"

Mrs. Blackmon walked over to the table and picked up a piece of paper, "I have a statement from the Bank of England showing an account in the name of Vernon and Petunia Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. It shows payments made on an annual basis in the amount of £5,000 pounds beginning in November 1981 as well as regular withdrawals by the Dursleys. I also have a statement from Gringotts Bank showing the transfer of the money to that account as well." She then provided copies of the statements to all applicable parties.

"I'll just wrap this up quickly now. Did the Dursleys ever take you on trips with them or vacations?"

"No Ma'am. Well, there was one time. Mrs. Figg couldn't watch me so they let me go to the zoo with them."

"And who is Mrs. Figg?"

"She's a neighbor. I'd always stay with her whenever the Dursleys went out."

"I believe that's all the questions I have for you, Harry. I'm sure Mr. Hawthorne has a few for you."

Blake Hawthorn stepped to the lectern, knowing that his case had already been lost.

"Did you ever cause harm to any of the Dursleys because of your magical abilities?"

"Not intentionally."

"Intentionally or unintentionally."

"Well, when we were at the zoo that time I accidentally set a boa constrictor loose on Dudley. And this past summer I accidentally blew up Aunt Marge."

"Blew up?"

"Well, she swelled up like a balloon and started floating away."

"Any other people?"

"At school one time there was this teacher that I turned her hair blue."

"Any other bouts of accidental magic that you can recall?"

"Another time at school, Dudley and his gang were chasing me. I wanted to get away from them and I ended up on top of the school roof. There was another time when Aunt Petunia didn't like the way my hair wouldn't lie down so she shaved it all off. The next morning it had grown back."

"Did you consider your aunt and uncle might be afraid of you?"

"No. How can they be afraid of a little kid? My aunt knew both of my parents were magical and had seen her sister do accidental magic. She should have known what it was. She sure didn't bother to tell me anything," he said bitterly.

"So what happened to you after you found yourself on top of the school roof?"

"Uncle Vernon tried to beat the freakishness out of me then locked me in my cupboard for a week."

Realizing that wasn't exactly the point he was trying to make, Blake Hawthorne decided to stop before he made a bad situation worse.

"I have no further questions."

Mrs. Blackmon rested her side of the case, turning it over to Mr. Hawthorne to rebut. He called Petunia Dursley to testify.

"Mrs. Dursley, when did Harry come to live with you?"

"November 1st, 1981."

"How was he placed with you?"

"I'd gone out the door to get the milk delivery and found a baby wrapped up and sitting on my front porch."

"Was there any information about him?"

"There was a letter from Albus Dumbledore telling me that my sister and her husband had been killed by a madman who had tried to kill the boy as well. With me being the only living blood relative, letting him live with us would provide protection for the whole family from anybody who wanted to do the boy harm. If we didn't take him, the same people that had killed my sister could come looking for us and kill us too."

"Did Harry cause you any problems as a child?"

"Not really, other than the strange, unexplainable things that always seem to happen when he was around."

"What were these 'strange things'?"

"Well, he told some of the major things already. We'd take something away from him and somehow it would always seem to find its way back to him."

"How was it for you trying to raise two boys of similar age together?"

"We'd only planned to have the one child. With Vernon's salary at the time, that was all we could afford. Now all of a sudden we had double the nappies and double the baby food to buy. Instead of being awakened in the middle of the night by one child, now it was two. We could never get a decent night's sleep between the two of them."

"Harry claims that you knew he was a magical child. Did you make any effort to have him placed with a magical family instead of yours?"

"We did try to get Mr. Dumbledore to move the boy to another family, but he said we all needed the protections from my sister's death to keep us safe. He promised if we did that, he would keep all other magical people from bothering us."

"Did you ever worry about your safety as a result of taking him?"

"All the time! We never knew if one day someone would come along and blow us up like they did my sister! Then he started doing all of those freakish things. We never knew if someone was watching us because of him."

"I have no more questions."

Mrs. Blackmon resumed the lectern and began her questioning of Petunia Dursley.

"Mrs. Dursley, did you ever apply for orphan assistance from the government?"

"No. Dumbledore told us that we needed to avoid any government paperwork as much as possible. There could always be freaks in it who could find out where the boy lived and come after us."

"What about medical care? Your own son was enrolled in the National Health Service."

"No. Again because of what Dumbledore told us."

"But you enrolled him in primary school."

"We had to do that. All of our neighbors knew he lived with us. If we didn't, the government would come after us for not sending him. Dumbledore said in his letter that the boy needed the schooling before he went to that freak school when he turned eleven."

"Did you receive money for his upkeep?"

Petunia stopped for a moment there before she answered the question. She had to be prompted twice before she did.

"Yes. Dumbledore said he'd set us up with a yearly stipend for the boy's care. We did get the amount the boy said we did every November from the time he was dropped on us until the time he left for that freak school."

"What did you do with the extra money?"

"We used it to help run the household."

"Was any of it spent specifically on Harry?"

"Well, we used it to run the house, so I would say yes."

"Let me be more specific. Did you buy Harry clothes with the money?"

"No."

"Did you ever take him to the doctor when he was hurt or sick?"

"No. He always seem to heal himself within a few days. We took him to the public health clinic for the required shots before he started school."

"Mrs. Dursley, where did Harry live in your house?"

She paused for a minute, then said "We never wanted the boy! He was a burden to us. He took away time I could have spent with my Dudley. Where would you put a freak like him?"

"I will ask you again, where did Harry live in your house?"

"In the cupboard under the stairs."

"And what about punishment?"

"Like he said, he was sent to his cupboard."

"Did you withhold food from him?"

"Sometimes."

"How long is 'sometimes'?"

"I don't know! I lost count of the days."

"One last question, Mrs. Dursley. You've had some time to think about your treatment of Harry. If you had to do it over again, would you still treat him the same way?"

Petunia wiped a tear from her eyes, "I don't know."

Mr. Hawthorne knew better than to put Vernon on the stand. As Dudley Dursley was in just as much, or worse, trouble, he was also not put on the stand. He'd checked with the neighbors and all they could tell them about Harry Potter was what the Dursleys had told them. With that in mind, he rested his case.

Since it was now close to lunch time, the judge recessed the court until one when he would make his ruling. Mrs. Blackmon told Harry and Sirius about several small cafés and pubs near the courthouse where they could go for lunch. Neither wizard was in a very talkative mood so both ate their meals in relative silence.

"You did very well, pup."

"Thanks. I just don't understand them."

"I know. I don't either, but then I was raised by Orion and Walburga Black and they were no saints. Just remember that you did nothing wrong; they did."

They took their time walking back to the courtroom. It was a crisp autumn day in London, so the pair enjoyed the day. Mrs. Blackmon was talking with Sandra when they entered and took their seats. Shortly after the judge entered.

"You have presented me with an interesting case today. There are often problems when a magical child is raised in a family where one parent is magical and the other one isn't. When both parents are non-magical, the problems increase exponentially. This specific case presents a unique situation for all parties. However, raising a magical child versus a non-magical child has very little difference until the child is old enough to attend Hogwarts or another magical school. They require the basics of food, clothing, shelter, education and love. These five things are necessary for all children to grow into productive adults whether they be magical or muggle. Part of the background documentation for this case was the report from the juvenile authorities on Dudley Dursley. How two boys living in the same house grew up to be so diametrically different in virtually every way leads me to look closely at the parents. Whereas Dudley is morbidly obese, Harry is malnourished. Dudley has clothing in the latest styles; Harry has hand-me-downs until just recently when he was able to purchase clothing for himself with his own money. Both boys were provided shelter, but Dudley was provided with two rooms while Harry was hidden away in a boot cupboard. Both were provided the basics of education however Harry received his not from a sense of duty and obligation by the Dursleys but in fear of what their neighbors as well as the Crown might think of them. Finally, there is no doubt the Dursleys showered Dudley with love while leaving Harry bereft of human kindness.

The psychological report on Dudley Dursley shows a boy with sociopathic tendencies. He thinks nothing of taking another's belongings. He is a bully to other children, especially those he deems weaker than himself. What is interesting to note is that when questioned about his treatment of his cousin Harry, Dudley said that his frequent attacks on Harry were sanctioned and encouraged by his father, Vernon. This is a child who was never told 'No'. Always got what he wanted. Always felt he was the most important person in his parents' lives. He has never been taught the value of working for what he earned; he expected it to be handed to him.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley, I find you guilty of the charges of gross child abuse, emotional abuse and child endangerment. Were it not for the fact that Harry is a magical child and that his magic does protect him to some extent, I have no doubt that we would have met in much different circumstances, only then the charge would have been murder. You are hereby sentenced to five years in prison and are required to pay Mr. Potter back the £50,000 you received over the years for his care. You are to turn yourself in no later than thirty days hence to begin serving your sentences. Your passports have been revoked and you are prohibited from leaving the area. I further order that permanent custody of Harry James Potter be awarded to Sirius Black. We are adjourned."

Harry turned to Sirius and both men hugged each other for all they were worth. It was over. It was finally over. The Dursleys would never hurt him again.


	43. Returning to Normal?

**A/N: Let me take a few moments to talk about Reviews. Like any fan fiction author, I absolutely LOVE them! However, I get very frustrated with Guest reviews. I try my hardest to answer all reviews with the exception of those that just say "Waiting for More", "Love It", etc. As such, I do not allow Guest reviews to be posted on my story. While I realize that some people don't want to be seen reading fan fiction LOL, it helps us refine our art. I've had some great "conversations" with folks who have reviewed my story and look forward to my regular reviewers' feedback. I also promise that I will never hold my story "hostage" waiting for a review. So, with that, on with the show!**

43\. Returning to Normal?

With the upcoming Quidditch match of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, Oliver Wood was becoming even more unbearable. He was scheduling practices or tactics sessions in nearly all of the open time after classes ended each day. Professor McGonagall had to step in and restrict them to a more reasonable schedule, reminding him that there was something other than Quidditch going on at Hogwarts and even he, the captain, needed time to study.

The last few days leading up to the match saw both the Gryffindor and Slytherin team members travelling in packs to avoid jinxes and hexes being tossed by the other team and their house members. While magic was suppose to be restricted in the hallways, both houses were quite discreet in their hexing. The Slytherin team learned quickly to leave the Weasley twins alone when they found all of their uniforms turned into a glaring conglomeration of neon purple and pink. The students had learned long ago not to question how they managed to get into places they shouldn't on a regular basis. What they didn't know was that, in this prank, the twins had help from one of the original Marauders. When Remus heard of the prank, he'd sent a strongly worded owl to Sirius about not causing disruptions even when he WASN'T a student. They had played that prank when they were in school.

Between practice and homework, Harry hadn't been able to spend as much time as he liked with his friends. He and Hermione would work in companionable silence in the library when he needed a quiet place to do his homework. Trying to get Ron to join them became even harder. It was as if the youngest Weasley male was spending more time goofing off (or trying to goof off) the more Harry kept trying to get him to join them.

"Hey Harry. Want to play a game of chess?"

"Wish I could, Ron. I've still got a bit more on my Transfiguration essay to do and I haven't even started on Potions yet."

"But Potions isn't until Friday! You can do it tomorrow night."

"No, I can't. Oliver's scheduled another practice and I don't know when we'll get done. I need to get whatever I can done tonight."

"Sometimes I think you're just trying to avoid me," Ron said in a huff.

"Sorry mate! Honestly, I'm not! You know what's going on with my Potions homework!"

"It's never bothered you before!"

"Well, it was different then. Things have changed. I'm sorry Ron, but I've got to go." Harry lifted his book bag and went out the portrait hole enroute to the library.

Ron had been cool to him after that. If Harry asked him something, he'd reply, but he didn't try to start a conversation with Harry. Harry just didn't have time to deal with it.

The day of the first Quidditch match on October 23rd, the weather was about as bad as it could get. There was a major storm going on outside by the looks of the ceiling in the Great Hall and the sound of the wind beating against the castle walls. It seems that Harry's luck with first of the season matches was holding fast. His first year, Quirrellmort had jinxed his broom while in his second year Dobby had jinxed a bludger to take his head off (or whatever part of his body it could get). Sirius had sent him a note that he'd be in the stands no matter what the weather was like.

The team took their time going to the locker room. It didn't matter how fast or slow they went, they were still going to get soaked. Harry quickly changed into his uniform, enjoying the feeling of dry clothes for a few more minutes. He cast a drying charm on his other clothes just to make them easier to put back on later. Oliver went through an elaborate pre-match pep talk before they finally lined up and walked onto the pitch.

Madam Hooch had to shout above the noise of the storm to be heard. She had the two captains, Marcus Flint was the captain of the Slytherin team, shake hands then she released the snitch. Once airborne, she released the quaffle and the game was on. Lee Jordan was announcing as usual, but he had very little to announce as he couldn't see the play any better than anyone else. Thank goodness the goals were charmed to automatically update the scoreboard by Lee's arm whenever a quaffle passed through or he wouldn't have anything to say other than it was raining very hard.

Harry flew around the pitch hunting for the snitch. He gave thanks to the _Impervius_ charm Madam Johnson had placed on his glasses or else he wouldn't have been able to see anything. Draco flew up by him and gave him a sneer.

"See anything useful Potter?"

"No. You?"

"I wouldn't tell you if I did. Maybe you'll get chased by another bludger."

"Nope. That was YOUR former house elf, Malfoy, that did that."

"Dobby?" asked Malfoy surprised.

"Yes. And he works for ME now," with that, Harry accelerated and flew to another spot on the pitch, leaving Malfoy to scratch his head.

After about an hour of play, Gryffindor was leading 80-60. It appeared that the rain may be letting up as there was a break in the clouds for a minute. That break was all Harry needed because there was a glint of gold just ahead of him. Putting on a bit of speed, Harry reached out and captured the little gold ball. Happy to be done with it, he flew down to ground level and over to the announcer's box to show Lee he had the snitch.

"And Potter has captured the snitch! The final score is Gryffindor 240, Slytherin 70." Evidently both sides had scored another goal since the last time Harry had heard the score announced. A loud shout went up through the stands and the Gryffindor team rallied on Harry at the box. Oliver and the rest of the team grabbed Harry and hugged him for all he was worth.

"Gerroff!" muttered Harry when the twins tried to hoist him onto their shoulders.

"But Harrikins! It's what we do with conquering heroes!"

"Well I'm no hero! I wanted this match over more than you did!"

"Now that's no fun!" Harry turned to see Sirius grinning at him.

"Sirius! You made it!"

"Of course! I wish I could say I admired your daring skill on a broom, but I only got to see brief glimpses. Why don't you get changed and meet me in Remus' office? I won't keep you long. I'm sure your friends will have a big party going in the Gryffindor common room."

Harry was never more thankful than when he finally got back to the castle and out of the rain. Filch was waiting in the Entrance Hall, shaking his mop at the students as they walked in, trailing water and mud after themselves. One seventh year took pity on the squib and cast drying and cleaning charms on the floor, eliminating the slipping hazard completely. When Harry got to Remus' office, he found a warm mug of hot chocolate waiting for him.

"Good catch there, Harry," said Remus.

"Thanks. It's a good thing I couldn't see what was happening on the rest of the pitch or I'd have been dodging a whole lot more bludgers. I couldn't see a thing. The new glasses were brilliant, though! Even with the rain, I could still see clearly."

"I look forward to your next match, pup, so I can see more of your death defying flying," chuckled Sirius.

"So, what's new?"

"Well, thanks to Dobby's help, Grimmauld place is now habitable again. I'll probably be moving there this week. It's on the floo network now, but only to those who have the password. Should be easy for you to remember; it's 'Prongs'."

"Yeah, I think I can remember that one," smiled Harry.

"The major thing going on is the Wizengamot meeting on the 28th. Gerald has been working with Amelia and we'll be ready to present our case then. She also said she was pretty sure they had discovered who had set the Dementor on the train, but due to the sensitivity of it, she wasn't going to release the information ahead of time. I've talked at length with Augusta Longbottom about some of these issues and she's ready to support whatever we decide to do. Oh, and I talked to her about Neville's wand. I think she may be taking Neville to Diagon Alley next weekend to take care of that problem, but don't say anything to him just yet."

"Great! I think Neville will have a much easier time with classes with a new wand. Well, except for Potions," he took one look at Remus and they both burst out in laughter.

"Is there something I'm missing here?" asked Sirius.

"My first class with the third years was on boggarts. Apparently the thing Neville fears the most is Severus. So to make it less threatening, I had Neville picture Severus dressed up as his grandmother," replied Remus.

Sirius also started laughing, "I'm sure that went over well with him when he found out."

Harry grumbled, "He took 20 points from Neville just for breathing wrong the next class."

"To continue, I've had a chance to talk to quite a few of the other members of the Wizengamot and many of them are ready for a bit of shaking up of the current regime. I haven't mentioned anything about Albus, but his name has come up more than a few times. Fudge is the epitome of corruption in government. He sells himself to the highest bidder which is why Malfoy spends so much time at the Ministry. Well, let me let you go back to your friends. I'll let you know what happens when I can. Study hard!"

Sirius gave Harry a hug and sent him on his way. He spent another hour with Remus, Minerva and Severus in the Room of Requirement going over some of the finer points of the upcoming events. It wouldn't do for them to be caught unawares once the Wizengamot meeting was over. Apparently Minerva wanted to talk to Sirius, so she stayed behind after Severus and Remus left.

"I thought you might want an update on how Harry is doing."

"Is there something I should be worried about?"

"Not at all. All of his professors have been quite pleased with the new Harry. He's been very conscientious with his homework. He currently has 'Exceeds Expectations' or better in all of his classes. Severus doesn't put that in his reports for obvious reasons, but that's what he's told me. I did take Remus' advice and made sure that all of the muggleborn children third year and lower received training in proper use of a quill. Those with a muggle parent were evaluated to see if there was a need for them to receive extra tutoring as well. It has made a vast difference in the appearance of their work. We also held a class for all of the first years on how to prepare a proper essay."

"And this relates to Harry how?"

"If you hadn't discovered these issues with Harry, we would have never made the connection. It's something we will be incorporating in our curriculum for the future."

"It wouldn't hurt to have classes in wizarding culture as well. Harry is woefully ignorant of his responsibilities, much less how our world works beyond Hogwarts. Augusta will be teaching him this summer in proper etiquette and I'll be working with him on responsibilities as a Head of House. He'll probably attend the Wizengamot meetings with me when he's not in school."

"I'll keep that in mind. There are several changes to the curriculum that I feel we need, but those will have to wait," leaving unsaid the reason the changes haven't been made. "I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds, but how did the trial of his relatives go? He didn't look like he wanted to say too much when he came back."

"They both received five years in prison. Their bully of a son is being handled through the juvenile authorities so I don't know what is happening with him. Evidently, once word got out at his school, quite a few parents came forward and pressed charges against him. There was no need to bring Harry into the proceedings as a result."

"I regret that I never checked up on him. I had my reservations about them when Albus left him there. If I had been thinking right, I would have made sure Albus handed him directly to them rather than leaving him on the front porch. What were we thinking!"

"Indeed. Well, it's over now and it's up to me to pick up the pieces. Have you talked to Poppy yet and has Remus had a chance to check her for charms?"

"Not yet. I think that's something to be done after the Wizengamot meeting. You said Harry would need to be checked again the first of the month, correct?"

"Yes. Although it does appear he has gained some weight."

"Severus has been letting Harry and Miss Granger brew his nutrient supplement each week. Astonishingly enough, they haven't killed each other yet."

"I think Lily had a few choice words for him," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Yes. She and James had a few for me as well."

In the Gryffindor common room, a party was definitely going strong. Just after Harry got back to the tower, the twins returned with several cases of butterbeer. Sirius had taken them aside before they returned to Hogwarts and told them he had set up a tab with Madam Rosemerta for butterbeer after their matches. Since they had the map and knew the secret passages, there was no problem getting it back to the school. They already had a relationship with the elves to supply snacks.

By late afternoon, Harry had partied out and escaped up the stairs to his dormitory. He pulled out his Herbology text to read for the next week. Fawkes had taken up a perch on the headboard of his bed, keeping an eye on his new human. It wasn't long before Ron came looking for him.

"Hey mate! I was wondering where you went."

"I think if I had another butterbeer I'd turn into foam."

"Yeah, it is a bit crazy down there. Interested in a game of chess?"

"That would be good. You haven't beaten me in a few days."

"That's only because you keep your nose in a book. You're turning into another Hermione."

Harry laughed, "Nobody can compare to her."

It didn't take long for Ron to win either. Harry figured it was time he learned more about the game, but that was something for the holidays. At the end of the second game, Hermione came up to collect them for dinner. Harry wasn't all that hungry, but Ron's ears perked up at the invitation.

With Quidditch practice scaled back to three times a week, Harry was finally able to get caught up on his homework. Besides peace of mind, it gave him a little more time to spend with Ron. Now that the incident with Buckbeak was over, Hagrid had retreated to more common magical creatures. Most of the class, well, all of the class, was happy when they got past the flobberworms. While they were important in several potions, there was nothing at all interesting about them. He asked Harry if Fawkes would mind spending a little time with him to show all of his classes. Harry said he'd ask the firebird.

Coming back into his dorm room, Harry felt a little stupid doing this but, after noticing how Fawkes seemed to follow conversations, he thought he'd give it a try.

"Hello, Fawkes. Hagrid was wondering if you might want to spend a little time with him so he can teach his classes about phoenixes. Or is that phoenixi?"

 _Do you like being paraded about like a trophy, hatchling?_

Harry was startled, to say the least, "Did you just speak to me?"

 _Of course! Phoenix are capable of talking with their bonded wizard, but it's not a conversation as you would have with your nest mates._

"So why haven't you spoken to me before?"

 _You did not ask me a question. Other than saying hello, you've ignored me._

"I'm. sorry. Can anyone else hear you?"

 _No. All they will hear are the various trills I use to make people think that is all I can do. They are not comfortable with animals making any other sounds other than what they expect._

"I will try to remember that. Feel free to remind me when I'm ignoring you."

 _Of course, hatchling. Now about the big man who wants to put me on display. He is known by all of the creatures to be kind and caring. Why does he want me?_

"He's now teaching our Care of Magical Creatures class. He's taught us about hippogriffs and flobberworms among other things. I'd asked him about teaching us a class about phoenix because of what you did for me in the Chamber of Secrets. I can understand if you would not want to, though."

 _I will have to think about it. Perhaps one class would not be too onerous._

"We could maybe have a single class for all years in the Great Hall one Sunday. There are no other classes that day and no Quidditch practice either."

 _That would be bearable. Perhaps we can speak with him before the class so he has more information than what wizards have put in their books._

"Brilliant! I'll talk to him then. Thank you, Fawkes!" Harry reached up and scratched the bird just behind his ears, earning him a soft trill of contentment.


	44. Wizengamot, Part II

44\. Wizengamot, Part II

Monday prior to the October Wizengamot meeting found Sirius and Gerald in Amelia Bones' office. She had taken the list of possible charges Gerald had provided and done her own independent investigation. Seeing the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets had left no doubt that things had gone seriously wrong at Hogwarts and no one was paying any attention to it. After hearing Harry's story of his life at the Dursleys, there was no doubt about the charges relating to him either.

"I'm concerned about the second charge of child endangerment with respect to Harry's first year DADA professor. While allowing a possessed professor into the school is reprehensible, I'm not sure we have enough information to convict on the charge," said Amelia.

"Harry is willing to let you have any of his memories you would like for that issue," said Sirius, "Having the Philosopher's Stone in the castle guarded by a Cerberus should support that. I suspect if you talked to Hagrid, he'll confirm both of those for you. While he is extremely loyal to Dumbledore, I've found that he is practically unable to lie."

"The child endangerment charge for leaving Harry on the Dursley's doorstep is pretty sound. I think once the wizarding world finds out their so called Savior was left on a muggle doorstep in the middle of the night with no one guarding him, there will be an uproar the likes you haven't seen in quite a while. The conspiracy to commit child abuse is a bit flimsy. He could say he had no idea the Dursleys would abuse Harry."

"Yes, but if he was supposedly Harry's magical guardian, wouldn't it be his responsibility to check on the child every so often?"

Gerald chimed in, "Perhaps we can leave that one in and give him something to throw out later. It might get him overconfident that he could get the other charges thrown out as easily."

"What about the illegal use of charms on Minerva and Severus?" asked Amelia.

"They are willing to testify as well as give their memories of the testing Remus did. He's also got the parchments the results were reported on. I think we could also do a demonstration of how the test works. We could have Remus test someone with it then send him out, put a couple of charms on them, then have Remus repeat the test. It would give validity to the results."

"That's a good plan, Sirius," said Gerald.

"I think that's all, gentlemen. This will actually be the second item on my agenda for the executive session. Gerald, I'm sorry you can't be in the chambers to see this play out, but I'm sure you'll get a front row seat to the results."

"I think I can live without seeing the initial reading of the charges. The results will be much more entertaining."

Thursday morning was another rainy London day. Sirius was ready to do battle with the masses. With his plum Wizengamot robes, he cut an imposing figure as he made his way from the floo in the Atrium to the Wizengamot chambers. Several of the other members were already present. Sirius had arrived a bit earlier than necessary in order to sense the atmosphere of the members. Augusta Longbottom was the first person he made contact with.

"Madam Longbottom, how are you today?"

"Quite well, Lord Black. I must say you have that look about you that I could swear you were a Slytherin and not a Gryffindor. Apparently there is something going on today that I'm not privy to."

"Sit back and watch. There will be great entertainment to be had before the day is over," he replied with a somewhat malevolent look in his eye.

"I do believe I would not want to be on your bad side, Lord Black."

The chairs rapidly filled as the ten o'clock hour approached. Dumbledore arrived about five minutes before. He carefully avoided looking at Sirius. Augusta noticed this immediately. Fudge appeared shortly afterwards. When the clock chimed ten, Albus called the meeting to order.

Dumbledore banged his gavel down and said, "The Wizengamot is now in session. All ye who have business before this body rise and state your case. Before we begin, does the Clerk have any new notices that need to be published since the last meeting?"

The Clerk stood, "Chief Warlock, Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot, one notice has been received since the previous meeting. Madam Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, has requested the body go into executive session at the conclusion of regular business."

All eyes glanced at Amelia with curiosity before the general business session began. It was a pretty normal session as far as Wizengamot business goes. Plans were already being made for the Quidditch World Cup being held in Britain next summer. Ludo Bagman from Magical Games and Sports gave them an update on the planning. He would be giving monthly updates until the tournament was over. Bartemius Crouch gave an update on the status of talks for the TriWizard Tournament which would, hopefully, be held at Hogwarts next year. Sirius was already shaking his head at that. Whoever had come up with that brilliant idea? There was a reason it had been discontinued. Finally they came to the end of the agenda.

Albus made his request for any more new business, "With there being no further business, the general session of the Wizengamot is closed. We will now enter into Executive Session. If the Clerk will please clear the chamber."

The audience slowly filed out. Rita Skeeter tried to linger back to see if she could catch a glimmer of what was so important as to require an Executive Session, but was quite rudely shoved out the door. While that was going on, Rufus Scrimgeour entered and spoke briefly to Madam Bones. She nodded her head several times. When the last person had left, Rufus lead a contingent of eight Aurors into the chamber.

"Madam Bones, are you ready to proceed?" asked Albus.

"I am, Chief Warlock. If you could secure the room."

Albus waved his wand and chanted an obscure chant. The doors to the chamber closed and would remain closed until the Chief Warlock released them. Once done, he nodded to Amelia to begin.

"Chief Warlock, Minister Fudge, members of the Wizengamot. I come here today to provide you the results of several recent investigations conducted by my office. As these investigations concern several members of this body, it is only prudent they be held in this manner."

As she spoke, she looked around the room. Sirius had a severe look on his face, knowing what was about to happen. Quite a few others were wondering if whatever she had affected them. The four subjects of her charges were totally oblivious to the fact they were about to find themselves on the wrong end of a wand.

"As many of you know, the Hogwarts Express was subjected to an attack by a Dementor. As there are few people in the Ministry with the authority to order them away from Azkaban, it narrowed my investigation considerably. While we were in open session, I had the Aurors search the office of the primary suspect."

When she said that, she paused for a moment to look around the room. She found the subject of the search. They still had their usual air of superiority showing with no thought to have been caught.

"Delores Jane Umbridge, you are charged with the following crimes: Abuse of office, sending a dark creature to attack a defenseless train, 528 counts of child endangerment for the subsequent attack on the train, and possession of dark artifacts for nefarious purposes. Aurors, arrest her." The room erupted in noise - many of the members had family members attending Hogwarts who were placed in peril by that activity.

Dumbledore banged his gavel to regain order in the room, "Madam Bones, could you enlighten us as to what these dark artifacts are?"

"Certainly Chief Warlock. There were three blood quills hidden in a warded compartment in her office."

The members of the Wizengamot understood quite clearly the implications of those items. Blood quills had been outlawed more than sixty years ago. The only ones authorized to possess them were the goblins and then used only for certain extremely sensitive contracts. Each use of one had to be reported to the Ministry immediately. Two Aurors stepped to where Umbridge was sitting and made to escort her out.

"How dare you accuse me of such acts! I demand you unhand me this instant!"

Madam Bones spoke, "Madam Umbridge, by the laws of the Wizengamot, you are charged with several serious crimes. Those laws require you to be immediately taken into custody and placed in a Ministry holding cell until such time as the Wizengamot convenes to consider the charges against you. You have the right to request an immediate trial. All trials will be conducted with the use of Veritaserum. Do you wish to request an immediate trial?"

"Of course not! I have done nothing wrong! Tell her, Cornelius! I only did what you were too cowardly to do!" she cried shrilly.

"Auror Scrimgeour please escort the accused to the holding cells." While the chamber was locked down, the door to the Ministry holding cells could be accessed only by either the Head Auror or the Director of the DMLE. The witch tried to put up a fight, but a quick silencing spell and an immobilization spell solved that. The first thing they did was remove her wand before floating her off to the holding cells. She was quickly passed to other Aurors on the other side of the door and the chamber sealed again. Now for the hard part.

"Cornelius Fudge, you are charged with conspiracy to deny a citizen their legal right to a trial and false imprisonment for actions taken against Sirius Black. An additional charge of false imprisonment is added for actions taken against Rubeus Hagrid." Two Aurors took position on either side of the man.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are charged with the following crimes: In actions concerning Harry James Potter: child endangerment, conspiracy to commit child abuse, forgery of a legal document, subverting a legal document, illegal use of charms with malicious intent, illegal binding of a wizard's magic, interfering with the proper delivery of mail, postal fraud and theft of property. In actions concerning Severus Tobias Snape and Minerva McGonagall, illegal use of charms with malicious intent. In actions taken at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, three charges of more than 500 counts of child endangerment. In actions taken against the muggle Dursley family, three counts of illegal charms on a muggle. Finally, in actions taken in conjunction with Bartemius Crouch and Cornelius Fudge, abuse of office, conspiracy to deny a citizen their legal right to trial and false imprisonment for the wrongful incarceration of Sirius Black. Aurors, arrest Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge. We arrested Bartemius Crouch as he left the chambers just now."

While the noise in the room had steadily increased as each charge was made, when she finished, it was complete pandemonium. Surprisingly, the majority of the shouting was at Dumbledore for what he had done to Harry.

Cornelius Fudge was the first one to protest, "I had nothing to do with imprisoning Sirius Black! I was just a junior member in the Magical Catastrophies Department! I object to this!" Fudge continued to protest as he was led out of the room.

Albus Dumbledore was stunned. How had they discovered all of the charms he had placed, especially on the Dursleys? And the money he had given to the Dursleys? It must have been the goblins! If ever he needed Fawkes, now was the time. Fawkes would have been able to take him out of the chamber even with it sealed. Unfortunately, he had lost the trust of the ancient bird. He did not notice the Aurors who came up beside him and took his wand and then placed magic-restraining bracelets on him so he was unable to use wandless magic either. Where once was the strong Leader of the Light, now there was just an old man. He allowed himself to be lead from the chamber.

Amelia stopped them and asked the Auror to remove the bracelets, "If you would release the wards, please."

Albus mumbled the words releasing the chamber and was then led to the holding cells.

The remaining members of the Wizengamot were in total confusion. Their Chief Warlock, Minister for Magic and his Undersecretary were all under arrest. The highest ranking Ministry employee present happened to be Amelia Bones. Two members approached her and made her aware of that fact. She quickly cast a _Sonorus_ to get everyone's attention.

"I believe this concludes the Executive Session of the Wizengamot. You may wish to continue the meeting to declare an Acting Minister until such time the appropriate trials are held and it is determined whether elections are required."

Rather than making a mad rush for the doors, most of the members remained seated looking around at each other as if an explosion had just gone off and they were trying to get their wits about them. While the doors were unlocked, no one made a move to leave. Tiberius Ogden was the most senior member of the Wizengamot so he took charge.

"Distinguished members, we must not look like we do not know what we are doing. Now, take your seats and let us make some decisions before we let the wolves in the press tear us apart." Everyone resumed their seats and looked to Tiberius for guidance.

"Nominations for Acting Minister for Magic are hereby open."

Patrick Parkinson was the first to rise, "I nominate Lucius Malfoy." Lucius nodded his assent.

Augusta Longbottom rose, "I nominate Amelia Bones." Amelia looked surprised, but also nodded her assent.

Tiberius looked around the room, "Are there any more nominations?" he saw that no one else rose.

"Very well. We have two qualified nominees who have accepted. For the sake of expediency, I believe we are all well aware of the qualifications of each nominee. Shall we put it to a vote?" Again he gazed around the room seeing nods of assent.

"All in favor of Lucius Malfoy for Acting Minister for Magic, signify by raising your wand." He looked around the room and counted twelve raised wands.

"All in favor of Amelia Bones for Acting Minister for Magic, signify by raising your wand." This time when he looked around, he saw a sea of wands. A quick count put the number at thirty-seven, as he had abstained from the voting.

"Amelia Bones, you have been elected to serve as Acting Minister for Magic. I yield the floor to you."

Amelia took the seat that had been vacated by Fudge. "Thank you, members of the Wizengamot. I will endeavor to earn the trust you have placed in me. I believe it would be most prudent to open the doors while we are still in session to allow the press to enter and ask their questions. If any of you object, please say so now." As she looked around, everyone was shaking their head. "Clerk of the Wizengamot, please open the doors to the chamber." With a flick of his wand, the doors opened and approximately thirty people, not all members of the press, swarmed in. Only five, not counting the _Daily Prophet's_ photographer, were true members of the press. The others, alerted to something important, were here for whatever juicy gossip they could get.

It wasn't lost on anyone in the gallery that there were several conspicuous absences. Amelia decided to just lay everything out rather than let them guess what happened.

"I see I do not need to call a press conference as the main news outlets are present. Earlier this morning, Delores Umbridge was arrested for the Dementor attack on the Hogwarts Express. She is being held at the Ministry pending trial. Albus Dumbledore was arrested for multiple charges regarding his treatment of Harry Potter, misdeeds at Hogwarts and charges related to the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black. Additionally, Cornelius Fudge and Bartemius Crouch were also arrested for charges related to the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black. An immediate election by the Wizengamot has named me as Acting Minister for Magic until such time as the charges against Cornelius Fudge are heard. I am sure you have questions."

Of course, Rita Skeeter had the first one, "Who were the nominees for Acting Minister?"

"Myself and Lucius Malfoy."

"Can you tell us what the vote count was?" Rita asked hopefully.

"You know that votes of the Wizengamot in closed session are not public, Rita."

Xeno Lovegood raised a hand, "Can you elaborate further on the charges against Albus Dumbledore?"

"I would rather not at this time. They will be clearly delineated at his trial. The charges are extensive and affect a minor wizard."

Rita followed that up, "Lord Black, would you be willing to give us a statement about the charges that affect your godson, Harry Potter?"

"No I will not. And neither will Harry," giving the witch his best glare.

Madam Abbott asked, "Do you know when these trials will take place?"

Amelia replied, "No I do not. We want to give all parties the opportunity to speak with counsel if they wish."

Mr. Wilding had the next question, "Madam Marchbanks, since this also affects Hogwarts, will there be a Board of Governors meeting?"

"Yes, I will be calling for one immediately after we are done here."

Xeno asked the next question, "Who will be in charge of the DMLE?"

"Rufus Scrimgeour is the Head Auror and the one most qualified to assume the position," answered Amelia.

Rita had to ask at least one more question, "Who will be leading the Wizengamot?"

"Lord Ogden is the senior ranking member and will be leading it until the charges against Albus Dumbledore are resolved. Now, I believe we've answered the most pressing questions at this time. If you'll excuse us."

The Wizengamot meeting adjourned with that last question. Madam Marchbanks stopped Sirius before he could leave, "As just stated, I will be calling an emergency meeting of the Hogwarts Board of Governors for five this evening. It appears that you know much more about these charges than you let on. Would you be amenable to meet with us?"

"I would be honored, Madam Marchbanks.," Sirius said with a small smile.

"Just one question. Will Minerva be surprised when I tell her this?"

"I don't believe much will surprise that witch anymore."


	45. Hogwarts Board of Governors

45\. Hogwarts Board of Governors

Rather than go back to Potter Hall for a bit, Sirius floo'd directly to Minerva's office. As it was lunch time there, he proceeded to the Great Hall to warn her about the upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors as well as the other things that had happened during the Wizengamot session. He entered the Great Hall and went straight to her at the Head Table.

"It's done. The Board of Governors will be here at five this afternoon. You may want to alert the staff to what is going on. Madam Marchbanks has asked me to attend as well."

"How did Albus take it?"

"Although he put up a strong front, it's like someone let the air out of him. He didn't put up a fight when the Aurors led him away."

"I wish it hadn't come to this."

"As do I. The other announcement was that Delores Umbridge was arrested for setting the Dementor on the Hogwarts Express. The Aurors found three blood quills hidden in her office when they searched it. Oh, I almost forgot, Fudge and Crouch were arrested for sending me to Azkaban without a trial."

"Who is the Acting Minister then?"

"Amelia Bones. You may want to warn her niece about this. I'm sure there will be a special edition of the Daily Prophet this evening."

"That is a very good point. Well, let me gather the staff before afternoon classes begin. Would you please join us as you know more about what is going on that I do?"

"Of course. Let me just say hello to Harry and I'll be right there."

While Sirius went to speak with Harry, Minerva had Pomona Sprout bring Susan Bones to a room just off the Great Hall. Once they assured her that nothing bad had happened, they let her know about the new position her aunt had now assumed. They also warned her of the inherent publicity surrounding that position just in case reporters tried to speak with her.

Sirius found his godson in the middle of a sea of red-heads. Seeing his godfather, Harry gave a small smile, "Well, is it over yet?"

"The initial part is. They arrested Dumbledore, Fudge and Crouch. Oh, and the person who set the Dementors after you was Fudge's Undersecretary, Delores Umbridge. Amelia had to use your name when she read off the charges against Dumbledore, but did not elaborate on them. Of course Rita Skeeter tried to find out more, but I told her neither of us would be speaking with her any time soon."

"So what happens now?"

"The Board of Governors will be here this afternoon to decide what is going to happen here. They've asked me to attend so I'm guessing they want to know more about the charges involving you. I'll be very circumspect about them so don't worry about it. The main thing is to expect a special edition of the Daily Prophet this afternoon. Amelia Bones is currently the Acting Minister."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"It's very good. Let me let you get to class. I'll see you before I leave."

Sirius caught up with Remus as he went to the staffroom for the impromptu faculty meeting.

"So Padfoot, how did it go?"

"Better than I thought it could. Besides arresting Dumbledore, Fudge and Crouch, they also arrested some witch named Umbridge for setting the Dementor on Harry."

"Umbridge? You mean Fudge's Undersecretary?"

"The very one. Know anything about her?"

"She's been responsible for pushing through all of the recent anti-werewolf legislation."

"In that case it's even better that she's out of there."

Upon arriving at the staff room, the majority of the staff had assembled. Even Hagrid had found a spot in the back. Severus had to add in a slight, "Bringing the mutt to staff meetings now are you, Lupin?"

"He was at the Wizengamot session and can give us first hand information," Remus recognizing the comment for what it was - keeping up appearances.

Minerva took control, "Settle down everyone. We have a lot of information to take in and not a lot of time to do it before afternoon classes begin. I've asked Sirius Black to speak to the events of today's Wizengamot session. Before he begins, let me first tell you that Albus Dumbledore was arrested today."

Those words set the entire staff room into an uproar, especially Hagrid. When she finally regained control, Minerva continued, "Now, as a result of information from the session, the Board of Governors will be meeting this afternoon at five, however, I am awaiting the official notification of that meeting. Sirius, if you would."

"Thank you Minerva. I'll try to be brief and give you the highlights of the charges. I expect the Daily Prophet will be printing a special edition. Besides Dumbledore, Fudge and Crouch were also arrested. Amelia Bones is now the Acting Minister and Tiberius Ogden is currently in charge of the Wizengamot. Several of the charges against Dumbledore are directly a result of his actions, or should I say, inaction, here at Hogwarts. Several of them are related to his treatment of my godson, however there is no need to go into them with you. Suffice it to say those who need to know about them are aware.

The charges that affect you here are the three charges of child endangerment with over 500 counts. The first charge is that he knowingly placed a priceless artifact in the school with the intention of luring Voldemort to seek it out and the dangerous protections used to secure it. The second is for allowing a Voldemort-possessed Quirrell teach for nearly a full year. The third charge is in regards to his actions last year with the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk."

Hagrid spoke up, "But nobody knew what the beast was!"

"When the first student was petrified, he should have closed the school until it was found and removed. Now, as a result of this, the Board of Governors has called an emergency meeting as Minerva stated. Madam Marchbanks has requested my presence to provide further information for the board on the charges. When the news breaks, there will be the associated rumors and innuendo. Any rumors concerning the charges regarding Harry should be directed to either Remus or Minerva."

Severus interrupted, "I fear my Slytherins may try to take advantage of the situation. I will ensure the proper information is given to them."

"Thank you Severus. For your information, Lucius Malfoy's name was also submitted for Acting Minister but he was defeated by a three-quarters majority. Does anyone else have any questions at this time? I realize this is sudden and you won't have a lot of time to prepare before things get interesting quickly. Minerva?"

"Thank you Sirius. I expect everyone to be available for the Board of Governors meeting this afternoon. I don't expect them to call any of you, but please be available. Now, I believe we have a school to run," she said, dismissing them.

"Remus, a word please," asked Minerva.

"I'll wait for you outside, Moony," said Sirius.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you are about to ask?" queried Remus.

"Probably not. However, as you are the only other Gryffindor currently on staff, I will probably need a new Head of House."

Remus was taken by surprise, "Are you certain, Minerva?"

"Of course! I will be on call for the three days you are otherwise occupied or we could ask someone else as well. Charity Burbage may be a good back up even though she was a Hufflepuff."

"Whatever you think is best then."

Remus looked a bit shell-shocked when he joined his friend in the hall.

"What was that all about, Moony?"

"Apparently I'm going to be the new Gryffindor Head of House."

Sirius couldn't help bursting out in laughter.

"It's not funny, Padfoot!"

"Oh I think that's the best prank ever. Well, they did make you a Prefect so you have some knowledge about what is needed. I think it's perfect. Now, do you think I could borrow your office while you're teaching? I need to collect my thoughts before the Board gets here."

"Of course."

Care of Magical Creatures turned into a discussion about magical familiars. Hagrid had planned to teach them about willowspoors, a type of magical bird, but with the defection of Fawkes, familiars was now a topic of interest. Hagrid was relieved to not have to put on a prepared lesson.

"A'right you lot, gather round then. While most any animal could bond with a wizard or witch, the most common ones are owls, cats, dogs, an toads. Phoenix are also included in there, but they're a subject all ter themselves. Other birds have been known ter bond. I've heard of ravens an eagles too. I've heard tell toucans and parrots are used in tropical places."

Harry asked, "What about snakes?"

Malfoy interrupted, "Yeah snakeboy, where's your snake familiar? You can talk to them."

"Well, I prefer the larger species like boa constrictors and basilisks. A bit too big to keep in my dorm room, Malfoy."

Hagrid gave them both a look, "Now, I've only heard of one wizard who's had a snake as his familiar and we don't talk about him."

Hermione said, "You-Know-Who?"

"Yep. Now, nobody knows what causes an animal to bond with a witch or wizard. Owls are pretty common since they deliver the mail, but it's not needed. Take fer instance the owls at the Post Office. They aren't bonded at all. Cats and dogs have been pets for centuries so it's only fittin the would be familiars."

Hermione raised her hand, "But what makes an animal a familiar instead of just being a pet?"

"Now you just got a cat, right Hermione?"

"Yes, although they said he was part kneazle."

"Well, it may take a little bit longer, but if he's goin ter bond with you, you'll notice him getting in yer way if someone tries ta hurt you. They can also sense yer moods. If yer feelin down, they'll curl up with ye till ye feel better."

"So when he went after the rat, Pettigrew, in the Magical Menagerie he was protecting me?"

"Probly so. Knew somethin weren't right about the rat."

Hermione turned to Ron with an 'I told you so' look.

Lavender Brown asked, "So does every witch or wizard have a familiar?"

"Oh no! Not evry wizard has one and not evry animal can be one. Not exactly sure what makes an animal a familiar other than you know it when it happens."

They talked a bit more about that, then Hagrid dismissed the class. Harry, Ron and Hermione hung back.

"Hagrid, can familiars talk to you?" asked Harry.

Ron pleaded, "Please tell me you're not hearing voices again, Harry!"

Hagrid continued, "Well, not exactly in words. I've heard of several times where people have claimed they heard their animal talkin to them. Why?"

"Well, you know you asked me to see if Fawkes wanted to sit for a class lesson?"

"Yeah. So he answered ye did he?"

"Yeah. It was strange. I didn't hear the words, I just heard it in my head."

"Well, you've got a special bond with that bird, that's fer sure. So what'd he tell ye?"

"He's not real happy about being the topic of show and tell. I think I've got him convinced to let us use him for one big class. Maybe we could do it in the Great Hall one Sunday afternoon?"

"That might be a good idea."

"Well, he said he'd want to talk with you before we did it."

"Well, when he's ready, just let me know and I'll set it up with Perfessor McGonagall."

The owl reached Minerva just as she was beginning her class with the first year Slytherin and Ravenclaws. It didn't say much more than what Sirius had said, just that an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors would be convening at five at Hogwarts. Due to the nature of the meeting, Minerva was expected to be there and they also requested the presence of the other Heads of House. While she was actually looking forward to the meeting, she was also unhappy that she would be absent from the Great Hall when the _Evening Prophet_ arrived.

Minerva and the other three heads of house were waiting in the Entrance Hall when Madam Marchbanks and the eight members of the Board of Governors arrived. She escorted them to the Board's meeting room where Sirius was waiting then called for an elf to bring refreshments. As Head of the Wizarding Education Authority and de facto Chair of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, Griselda Marchbanks was an imposing witch. She ensured each meeting was conducted in an orderly fashion, but she was sure even before this one started there would be no order today.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As only two of our members are also members of the Wizengamot, I am unsure if you have heard the results of today's meeting." She looked around the room, noticing the quizzical looks on the other seven board members.

"Albus Dumbledore was arrested in today's meeting," she said, pausing to let the full effect of that pronouncement settle over the room. Once it did, there was pure bedlam as everyone tried to ask their questions.

"If you would settle down, we will discuss those charges. I have asked Lord Sirius Black to attend today's meeting as he was, apparently, quite aware of the pending charges. Some of them apply only to his godson, Harry Potter, but several also have immediate impact on Hogwarts. Lord Black, if you would enlighten us?"

Sirius stood up, "Thank you Madam Marchbanks. You are correct in your assumption that I have been involved in the activities leading up to today's Wizengamot meeting. I will skip over the charges that are directly related to Harry. The substance of those charges do not affect his position as Headmaster. However, the three charges of child endangerment of the school should and do concern you. I suspect some of these events were not reported to you."

Daniel Greengrass asked, "So how do you know about them?"

"Harry has told me in detail about his last two years here. While I cannot show you evidence of the first incident, I can the second."

Madam Marchbanks interrupted what could have become an interrogation, "Please continue, Lord Black."

"Two years ago, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was Quirrell. I'm sorry, Minerva, I don't know his first name."

"Quirinus."

"Well, let me back up a minute. How many of you knew the castle was playing host to Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone?"

He looked around the room and nobody said anything.

"As I thought. Apparently Albus was using it as a trap."

"For whom?" asked Ermengarde Wycliffe.

"Voldemort."

"Surely you are mistaken, Lord Black. You-Know-Who is dead." said Madam Marchbanks.

"I'm afraid I'm not. It was placed in a room underneath the castle with access from a third floor corridor. Rather than keep the fact that it was in the castle secret, at the Welcoming Feast Albus announced the third floor corridor on one side of the castle was off limits unless you wanted to die."

"He didn't!" cried Maxmillian Caldicott.

Minerva replied, "Oh yes, he did. I believe he worded it as if you didn't want to die a very painful death."

"So what was up there to cause such a warning?" asked Lord Greengrass?

"It is my understanding that several staff members contributed to the protections on the Stone. The first one guarding the entrance to the chamber was a three-headed hellhound," said Sirius.

Pomona spoke next, "I placed Devil's Snare below the entrance to trap anyone who managed to get past the dog and down the trap door."

Filius was next, "I charmed over one hundred keys to fly around. You would need to determine which key actually fit the door then catch it to open it."

Minerva was next, "The next obstacle was mine. It was a life size wizard's chess board. You would have to play your way across to get through the next door."

Sirius continued, "My understanding is that the next obstacle was from Quirrell himself - a troll. Luckily by the time Harry and his friends got there, the troll was already out."

Severus came next, "The final obstacle that I am aware of was mine. It was a combination logic problem and potions test. There were seven bottles; one would get you through the next door, one would get you back through the door you came through; two held nettle wine while the final three were different poisons."

A witch, Madam Zabini, asked the obvious question of what the last obstacle was.

"There are only three people who know that for sure; Albus Dumbledore, Quirinus Quirrell and Harry Potter. According to Harry, the stone was hidden in a charmed mirror that had been placed in there by Albus," said Sirius.

"So what good was that?" asked Osric Landsdowne.

"Only a person who wanted the stone but did not want to use it could get the stone out. Quirrell was unable to get it so he tried to get Harry to get it for him. The stone then ended up in Harry's pocket."

"And Professor Quirrell?" asked Madam Marchbanks.

"He tried to get it from Harry but was unable to. So the voice who was commanding Quirrell at that time told him to remove the turban he had been wearing. On the back of his head was Voldemort."

You could see the shudders go through the room each time Sirius said Voldemort's name. Each member was duly shaken by this revelation.

"As Mr. Potter is still with us, what happened to Professor Quirrell?" asked Lord Greengrass.

"It is my understanding he is dead. Harry was unclear of exactly what happened after that, but apparently his touch burned the skin of Quirrell. Harry saw that and then hung on for dear life. It forced the spirit of Voldemort out and killed Quirrell. Harry was in the hospital wing for three days due to magical exhaustion."

"Minerva, where was Albus was during all of this?" asked Madam Marchbanks.

"He had received an urgent owl from the Ministry and had left just before the students came to me and told me the Stone was going to be stolen."

"So you knew there was going to be an attempt to steal the stone while Dumbledore was gone?"

"No, I didn't. I had three first year students come to me to tell me an attempt was going to be made on it since Dumbledore was out of the castle. Certainly you can understand the skepticism I had at that statement."

"Who were the other two students?"

"Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Is it safe to assume the Stone is no longer in the castle and the traps dismantled?" asked Madam Marchbanks.

"Yes. I believe the Cerberus is running around the Forbidden Forest somewhere. The remainder of the traps have been removed," answered Minerva.

"Well, that accounts for the first two charges of child endangerment. I would say those are valid charges. Please tell us more about the third charge, Lord Black," said Madam Marchbanks.

"It started with a cursed diary being introduced in the castle by way of an incoming first year."

"And who was this first year student?" asked Madam Summersby.

"Ginevra Weasley. Let me ask you all a question first. Were you aware that four students, a ghost and a cat were petrified in this castle last school year?"

Madam Marchbanks answered for the group, "Lord Malfoy told us about it when he came to us with a letter of suspension for Albus until a more thorough investigation could be accomplished."

"Well, the first one petrified was Filch's cat. There was also a phrase written on the wall that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened."

Madam Wycliffe responded, "But the castle's been searched numerous times over the years and nothing has been found."

"You are correct. The last time it had been opened was fifty years ago when a student was killed. Harry and his two friends had been researching that event. Apparently the last time it had been opened, Hagrid was falsely accused of opening it and his wand snapped. Additionally, Harry had been hearing sounds of something talking about killing and maiming things. Thinking he was hearing things, he tried to forget it. His friend, Hermione, had figured out what kind of beast was in the Chamber but was petrified before she could tell him or anyone else. They finally determined the student killed the previous time was Myrtle, the ghost who lives in the second floor girl's lavatory. Before they could tell someone, another warning was written on the wall that a student had been taken into the Chamber where her bones would lie for all eternity."

"As soon as that happened I began to make plans for the students to be sent home immediately. Meanwhile the professors met and selected one to go into the Chamber to deal with the monster," said Minerva.

Clindiver Standford asked, "May I ask who this professor was?"

Minerva really didn't want to answer that question, "The Defense professor, Gilderoy Lockhart."

Laughter was heard from all of the wizards while some of the witches were shocked.

"Go on, Lord Black," said Madam Marchbanks.

"Let's just say that Harry and Ron encouraged Lockhart to go with them to where they suspected the entrance was. Apparently he was packing up his things to make a fast get away when they found him. The entrance was, in fact, in the second floor girl's lavatory, but it can only be opened by a Parselmouth. Once they got it open and found their way down, Lockhart grabbed Ron's broken wand and attempted to obliviate both of them. The wand backfired and erased his memory instead. It also caused a bit of a cave-in separating the two boys from each other."

"Ah, so that's why he's in the permanent spell damage ward of St. Mungo's," said Madam Marchbanks.

"Yes. Well, when Harry got into the Chamber itself, he found Ginny there barely clinging to life. There was an apparition there of a boy of about sixteen. The boy's name was Tom Marvolo Riddle; the name written on the outside of the cursed diary. He was using the diary to possess Miss Weasley and drain her life force from her."

Another wizard, Simon Potage, asked, "So who is this Riddle person? His name has never come up before."

"Very few people are around that remember him by this name. His name is an anagram for 'I Am Lord Voldemort'."

Another round of gasps and exclamations was had when that name was mentioned.

"He then set the monster of the Chamber of Secrets on Harry. The monster was a seventy foot long basilisk. With the help of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, Harry managed to slay the beast with the Sword of Gryffindor."

Lord Greengrass interjected, "Surely you don't believe all of this! It's just the imagination of a twelve year old boy!"

"I do, Lord Greengrass. I have seen the Chamber and the slain basilisk as have these professors. We can show you the Chamber, however the basilisk has been removed by the goblins. You should be hearing about the sale of the harvested parts very soon now."

"I would very much like to see this Chamber," replied Lord Greengrass.

Sirius looked at the other professors quizzically first before making his next statement, "Then I take it Albus didn't tell you of the other things that were found in the Chamber?"

"Albus told us nothing at all about this fabled Chamber, Lord Black," replied Madam Marchbanks.

"Then I think we should save that surprise for your visit to the Chamber," smirked Sirius.

"Would the members of the Board prefer to continue with our discussion concerning Albus Dumbledore or visit the Chamber first?"

The murmured consensus was to continue the discussion.

Madam Wycliffe then asked, "I hope that the purpose of this meeting is to remove Albus Dumbledore and appoint a successor, Griselda."

"I was waiting on the explanation of the charges first. Do we need any further discussion on the matter?"

With shakes of their heads, the Board agreed. Daniel Greengrass then spoke up, "I move that Albus Dumbledore be removed from his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts immediately and that he be permanently ineligible for any further positions at the school."

There were several people who seconded the motion.

"Very well, all those in favor of removing Albus Dumbledore please raise your wand."

The vote was unanimous. Albus Dumbledore no longer had a position at Hogwarts.

"Minerva, if you will see to packing up his belongings and storing them for him."

"Of course."

"Before we discuss Albus' successor, why don't we take a break and see this fabled Chamber?"

There were nods all around.

Minerva spoke up, "It will take a few minutes to send someone to fetch Mr. Potter."

"I believe I can take care of that. Dobby."

A little elf popped in, "Master Doggie calls Dobby?"

"Dobby, would you ask Harry to meet us at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets? The Board of Governors would like a tour."

"Of course, Master Doggie."

There was a look of amusement on the Board members' faces.

"Wasn't that Lucius Malfoy's old elf?" asked Lord Greengrass.

"Yes. We can thank him for alerting us to the fact that Malfoy was the one who planted the diary on Miss Weasley. Lucius didn't feel very charitable towards him and, thanks to some quick work by Harry, gave him clothes. As you can see, the elf now works for Harry and, by extension, me."

The group got up and proceeded to the second floor. It wasn't very long before Harry joined them.

"Hi Harry! The Board of Governors wanted to see the Chamber. Evidently they were never told about it," Sirius said with a wink.

Harry gave a quick smile and entered the bathroom. The majority of the Board packed in to see Harry open it up. Harry was just thankful that Myrtle wasn't there. He hissed it open then asked for stairs and lights. All of the Board members were duly impressed. Harry and Sirius led the way with the professors bringing up the rear. Once everyone was down in the Chamber, it was easier to talk with them.

"There's a second entrance door just up here. Once we get through it, we're in the primary Chamber," said Sirius.

Harry hissed that door open. The Chamber looked different without the basilisk lying in it. He turned around to look at the rest of the group. It was easy to tell who had been in the Chamber before and who hadn't. Those who hadn't were looking around in awe while those who had were watching the ones who hadn't. It was quite a comical scene. After giving them a few minutes to look around, Harry went to the statue and asked it to open up. Sirius led the parade of wizards and witches through the statue's mouth and into the circular chamber.

"Apparently this was a hibernation room for the basilisk," said Sirius.

"While this is quite a stunning find, I don't see anything else to make it worthy of special mention," said Lord Greengrass.

While he was talking, Harry had gone to the back of the Chamber to open the door to the hidden library. It took him a couple of tries before he found the right spot. When that door opened it got a bit more attention.

Minerva spoke up this time, "I would ask that you not touch anything in this room. We have not had time to properly catalog and preserve its contents."

This time Minerva led the group into the library chamber. Harry stood off to the side with Sirius. He got the usual stares from the members. He'd never met any of them before so they were all still struck with The Boy Who Lived awe.

While Sirius had Harry alone, he asked him what the reaction to the special edition of the _Prophet_ was.

"Well, there was a lot of different ones. You could hear Malfoy's voice over everyone talking about how his father had always said Dumbledore would meet his downfall. Most everyone was pretty shocked. It didn't help that none of the Heads of House were there. Professor Sinistra finally had to quiet things down and then told everyone that the Board of Governors had called an emergency meeting and that the Heads were meeting with them. Then there was the half of the hall staring at me since my name was mentioned in the charges. Luckily there were no specific ones given."

"Yes, Amelia was very good at protecting your privacy. Of course once the trial is held, it will all get out. Nothing we can do about that, pup."

"I know. I'm just ready for all of this to be over."

"I know you are. Well, shall we see how our illustrious Board of Governors is doing?"

The pair went into the hidden library and caught snippets of conversation. Madam Marchbanks came over to them, "I don't know how we are going to ever be able to thank you for this find, Mr. Potter. Once properly preserved, it will provide a treasure trove of research materials for years to come."

"I was just as surprised Ma'am. I almost didn't find it."

"Tell her about the diary."

Harry walked over to the sitting area and picked up Salazar's diary and brought it back.

"This is actually a diary written by Salazar Slytherin. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who can read it. Apparently it's written in Parseltongue."

"Perhaps you will have some time in the future to translate it for us."

"I hope so. It's got a lot of stuff about how they decided where to put each of the common rooms and other parts of the castle. I've just read a couple of pages so far."

Apparently the Board had divided themselves by their own houses and were perusing the books from their applicable founder. After allowing them sufficient time to be properly awed, Madam Marchbanks called them back to order.

"I believe we have spent enough time here for now. Perhaps we can schedule another time where we can spend more time with this treasure. Minerva, have you gotten an estimate of what it would take to properly preserve these works while still allowing people to use them for research?"

"Madam Pince is working on it, however we had not wanted to say a whole lot until we were certain you had been apprised of the find. At the moment, we feel it is in the best place it could be. No wards could be any stronger than the protections Salazar put on his chamber."

The group filed out of the library and back the way they had come. Harry and Sirius followed behind closing up each entrance. Once they were back at the top, he closed the primary entrance.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, for showing us this rare find."

"You're welcome. Anytime you want to see it I'll be happy to let you in. Well, unless I'm in classes," he said with a glance around at his professors. That earned him a chuckle from those who heard him.

Harry went back to the Tower while the remainder of the group went back to the Board room. Minerva called for an elf to bring in a light dinner for everyone. She transfigured a table for Sirius and the four professors to eat at. While they were eating, Sirius asked Minerva a pointed question, "Minerva, you realize they are going to question your actions throughout all of these events."

"Of course. I question my actions during all of them."

"You are going to have to tell them about the charms."

Pomona asked, "What charms?"

Sirius replied, "Albus placed a charm on Minerva so that she'd basically agree to whatever he suggested. It was placed shortly after he left Harry with the Dursleys."

"He didn't!"

"I'm afraid he did, Pomona," said Minerva.

"Have you thought about having Remus check the other two professors?" questioned Sirius.

"Other two?" asked Filius.

"Yes, I had one on me to hate anything to do with a Potter. It was placed when I was a second year," said Severus.

"My word. I think once we are done here I will seek Remus out," said Filius.

"I will go with you," added Pomona.

"This may be a good time to check Madam Pomfrey as well," said Sirius.

"We will go and talk with her either tonight or tomorrow," said Minerva.

Madam Marchbanks called the meeting back to order.

"Our next order of business is to appoint a new Head. While I think it would normally be automatic to promote you, Minerva, I believe I speak for us all that there are now some doubts as to your fitness for the position."

"I quite understand, Madam Marchbanks. However, in defense of myself, I should make the Board aware that the two charges against Albus for illegal charms are for charms placed on myself and Professor Snape. The charm placed on me was a compulsion charm to agree with whatever actions the Headmaster wanted to take. It was placed shortly after we left Mr. Potter at his relatives. I had expressed doubts to him about the wisdom of that move. The other was placed on Professor Snape which had him disliking anything to do with a Potter and was placed at the start of his second year as a student."

"May I ask how you found this out?"

Sirius interrupted, "If I may. We had Harry examined by the goblins for multiple reasons. Part of this examination included a magical scan. We found several charms as well as a bind on his magic. All were placed by Albus Dumbledore. The bind on his magic was placed after he began at Hogwarts. Based on this, we thought it prudent to have both Minerva and Severus checked. I would prefer to not go into any more explanation regarding Harry to preserve his privacy."

"And who did these checks?"

"Remus Lupin. He's currently the DADA professor here and is also the Potter Steward. When the goblins removed the ones on Harry, he was shown the procedures to check Harry out to ensure these charms and bindings were not replaced."

Madam Zabini interjected, "He's the werewolf, correct?"

Minerva answered, "Yes, Remus is a werewolf. Before you ask, we are taking every precaution to limit his exposure to the students during the full moon. Professor Snape is providing him with the Wolfsbane potion and we are warding his quarters to ensure he is not disturbed."

Lord Greengrass added, "Daphne has written about him and has said he is proving to be the best DADA professor she's had in the three years she's been here."

Other members with children or grandchildren currently attending Hogwarts also nodded in assent.

Mr. Potage added, "My grandson is in his seventh year and has had complaints about the DADA professor each year. He's quite concerned about passing his NEWTS. He told me that this Professor Lupin has assembled a unique syllabus to ensure both the NEWT and OWL students know what is expected for their exams. He's even been learning how to cast a _Patronus_."

Madam Zabini disagreed, "We still should not let that creature near our children!"

Sirius winced when she called him a creature. It wasn't a battle he was willing to fight tonight.

"I believe we've gotten off topic," said Madam Marchbanks, "While that is an interesting explanation, it does not totally ease my mind that business will be conducted differently."

"If I may provide you with some of the changes I have already begun to implement, perhaps that will help ease your conscience."

"Go on."

"Several things have been brought to my attention as a result of Mr. Potter's situation. To that end, we've added a class on the first Saturday of the term for all first year students to teach them the proper way to form an essay. I've also ensured each house provides training to their muggleborn and muggle raised students on the proper use of a quill. I am investigating the possibility of adding a class on wizarding studies for our muggleborn and muggle raised. Hopefully this will integrate them into the school and society more easily."

Mr. Potage asked, "What other changes to the curriculum do you foresee?"

"Personally, I have never seen the need to teach Divination. I've always been of the mind that either you are a seer or you are not."

"Have you considered what you would replace it with?" asked Madam Marchbanks.

"Not at this time. This is something I would need to discuss with my current faculty as well as suggestions from the Board."

"If we appoint you as Headmistress, who do you see replacing you as Gryffindor Head of House and Deputy?" asked Mr. Standford.

"It is tradition that the Head of House be a former member of that House. The only Gryffindor currently on staff besides myself is Professor Lupin. Either myself or another staff member would serve as a backup on the full moon to account for his affliction. The current Head Boy is also a Gryffindor. As for the Deputy, I'd prefer to think about that a bit more. Based on my experience, I think asking a Head of House to also be the Deputy is asking too much of them when added to their teaching responsibilities. I would like to evaluate my staff further before asking one to assume that responsibility."

"Do your fellow Heads of House feel likewise?" asked Madam Zabini.

Filius went first, "I must confess that I do. I've never understood how Minerva could juggle those three jobs at the same time."

Pomona then added, "As part of my teaching responsibilities I also care for all of the greenhouses. This is a year-round requirement. I'm afraid my plate is quite full."

Severus completed the three, "I also have other responsibilities in addition to teaching and Head of House. I supply the hospital wing with all of its potion requirements. While I am able to brew the majority during holiday breaks, there are times when requirements come up that we didn't plan for. For example, because of the petrifications, once Professor Sprout grew the mandrakes to the proper age, I had to prepare the potion to reanimate the victims. I have also been called upon by St. Mungo's when their Potions Masters are unable to determine an appropriate solution to a difficult case."

"Your point is well taken, Minerva. Please provide us with your suggested replacement by Friday next, then. We will discuss curriculum changes in a future meeting," said Madam Marchbanks. "Now, does anyone have any further business of an immediate nature we should address at this time?"

When no one replied, the meeting was quickly adjourned and the Board left the castle. The five people still left in the room breathed a very deep sigh of relief.

Minerva looked around at her fellow professors, "Well, that's that. Since I managed to keep you out of the Deputy's position, you will have to assist me in selecting someone who is qualified. I believe the list is quite short. However, I think we have done enough for the night. We can postpone this until Monday so that we can have all of our professors present for the discussion."

Everyone nodded in agreement. As they got up to leave, Minerva stopped Filius and Pomona, "Shall we go find Remus and get you checked for charms? It is very quick and totally painless."

Severus departed for his dungeons while the other four went in search of the school werewolf. Remus was still in his office when the entourage arrived.

"Minerva, Filius, Pomona, to what do I owe this visit?"

Minerva spoke, "First, let me congratulate you on your appointment as the new Gryffindor Head of House. If we have a moment once we have completed our tasks, I'd like to take you to the tower and formally introduce you."

"Thank you, Minerva, I think." The group laughed at that last remark.

"Moony, we'd like you to check Filius and Pomona as you did Minerva and Severus, then we're going to go to the Hospital Wing and check Madam Pomfrey."

"Certainly. This shouldn't take but a few minutes. Please, sit." Minerva quickly transfigured several books into chairs for all. While Remus and Filius discussed the intricacies of the charm Remus was using, the other three watched while it did its work on Pomona. When the parchment snapped into being, Remus read it, then handed it to her, "Nothing. That is some good news at least. Filius?" He waved his wand over the little professor and chanted the spell. It also came back negative. Another breath was let out by all.

After another minute of brief conversation, Flitwick and Sprout went back to their respective houses to discuss the latest in the turn of events while the other three went to the Hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was just completing the final checks of the night before turning in for the evening.

"Minerva! I've been wondering where you were all night! Please tell me the rumors aren't true!"

"If it is the rumor that Albus has been arrested, then it is true."

Her hand flew to her mouth in shock, "Surely there's been a mistake!"

"I'm afraid not. Could we have a word with you in your office, Poppy?"

"Of course. Sirius, good to see you looking so well after your debacle."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Well, that was one thing you could call it.

Once inside Poppy's office, they closed the door and Remus cast silencing spells.

"Is there something I should be concerned about," asked Poppy.

"Two of the charges against Albus are for charms he placed on Severus and myself. Some questions have come up as a result of this that you may also have one or more on you. Remus would like to check you," said Minerva.

"Of course. How does it affect you, Sirius?"

"If it is what we think, it affects Harry."

"That boy sure spends enough time in here."

"If I may ask, do you remember ever doing a complete medical scan on him since he's been here?" asked Sirius.

"I'm sure I must have. He's got quite a thick file already, especially after that idiot vanished the bones in his arm last year!"

"This should only take a few minutes, Poppy," said Remus.

Again, Remus waved his wand and chanted the charm for the spell. After a couple of minutes, the parchment appeared. Remus took it and read it, his mouth frowning further as he read it.

"What does it say, Remus?" asked Poppy.

"It is as we feared. The charm does affect Harry, but I'm trying to decipher what it actually means. It was placed in October of 1991. Apparently you can perform and discuss scan results of immediate accidents and illnesses but you are not allowed to do any comprehensive scans. So if you did do one on him at some point, the results must have been destroyed. Any results that may link to possible child abuse are to be ignored. There is also an old charm affecting Severus. Any signs of child abuse for him were also to be ignored. Would you like me to remove them?"

"Of course!"

While Remus performed the counter to the charms, Sirius took the results and made a copy of them.

"I'll be giving this to Amelia to add to the file on Albus. I probably need to have a chat with Rufus Scrimgeour as well."

Once Remus had completed the counter and rescanned Poppy, Sirius felt comfortable discussing the other part of his visit.

"I realize this is probably confusing for you, but there is a reason. We had Harry checked over by the goblins this summer. Not only were there signs of child abuse and neglect, but he had several charms placed on him by Albus to include a bind on his magic."

"Oh my word. And I missed them! I usually do a comprehensive scan on a child the first time they present themselves to me just to get a baseline from which to compare later results. I was so sure I had done one on Harry. I take it there are some things I need to be aware of then."

"One of the things the found was severe malnutrition."

"He always did seem small for his age. That would explain it. We need to get him on a supplement immediately."

"It's already been done. The goblins started him on it and Severus has been working with him to make his own. They estimated it would take two months to get the full benefit. He will need a recheck at your convenience."

"Of course. Just have him come visit me as soon as he has a free moment."

Remus added, "Perhaps we can have him come in tomorrow after his last class. Then if he no longer requires the supplement he won't need to go see Severus on Saturday."

"That would be fine. Thank you for finding this out. I can't believe I've not noticed anything amiss."

Minerva soothed her, "It's not your fault, Poppy."

Finding no further need to be there, Sirius asked to borrow Poppy's floo to return to Potter Hall. Minerva and Remus proceeded to the seventh floor to speak with their Gryffindors. When they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Minerva paused, "My dear lady, I would like to introduce the new Gryffindor Head of House, Remus Lupin."

She batted her eyes at him, "Welcome home Professor Lupin. Should I be keeping an eye out on anyone in particular?"

"I believe you know Harry Potter."

"Of course!"

"Well, if he's up to any mischief I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know." Remus bowed to the portrait and then they entered into the Common Room. If you could have put an on/off switch in the there it definitely went to off as all conversation stopped.

Seeing Percy, Minerva said, "Mr. Weasley, if you and Miss Anderson could have everyone assemble downstairs please."

"Of course, Professor McGonagall." Percy disappeared up the boys' staircase while a witch went up the girls' staircase. Presently students streamed down each into the common room. Once the two students confirmed everyone was there, she began.

"I apologize for taking so long to speak with you about the day's events however the Board of Governors called an emergency meeting this evening and I have been occupied with them."

Colin Creevey asked, "So it's true that Professor Dumbledore is no longer the Headmaster?"

"Yes, Mr. Creevey, it is. The Board of Governors has decided to bestow that honor on me. As a result, Gryffindor House requires a new Head. As Professor Lupin is the only other Gryffindor on staff at the moment, that dubious honor now falls to him. A new Deputy Head has yet to be appointed. Professor Lupin?"

"Thank you Headmistress. There are some of you who are finding this quite amusing," looking pointedly at Harry and the Weasleys, "however, I doubt things will change that much from Professor McGonagall. I will be meeting with the prefects next week to determine if there are any policy or procedure changes that need to be addressed. As Saturday is the full moon, Professor McGonagall will be covering my Head duties until we are able to establish a better system. I expect the prefects and Head Boy to maintain some semblance of order. If you have any questions or concerns, my door is always open to you. I will schedule a formal House meeting for another time," turning to Minerva, "Headmistress?"

"I believe that is enough for tonight. As neither of us have had a chance to read whatever misguided information the _Daily Prophet_ may have printed, I will reserve further comment until tomorrow."


	46. Fallout

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or scenes. Those rights belong to J.K. Rowling and her minions.**

46\. Fallout

If things at Hogwarts were in confusion, the rest of the wizarding world could be said to be in chaos. Luckily the wizarding world did not have entities such as the muggle stock market or there would have been true panic in the streets. With the goblins running the financial business of the wizarding world, it was business as usual. It would be safe to say, however, that there were several goblins in Gringotts who were getting some satisfaction over the latest events in the magical world. Humans could be such amusing creatures at times like these.

The offices of the Daily Prophet were total bedlam. Their combination _Evening Prophet_ and special edition of the _Daily Prophet_ had caused quite a bit of response from its readers. Owls had been coming and going since the paper had gone out. For some reason, members of the wizarding world thought the paper could produce results other than that which it reported on. They had lost count of the number of howlers they'd received. They ran the gamut of support for Fudge and Dumbledore to decrying their very existence. Reporters had spread out throughout the wizarding world in Great Britain getting reader response to the events. Rita Skeeter had staked out a spot in the Ministry trying to see who she could talk to. Her attempts to speak with Amelia Bones had proved futile.

At Malfoy Manor, Lucius and Narcissa were hosting a hastily called dinner meeting. Attendees were the ones who had voted for Lucius for Minister as well as those Ministry workers who saw things as Lucius did. Unfortunately, there were several key members absent as they were tied up with the Board of Governors meeting at Hogwarts. Those in attendance included Patrick Parkinson, Delbert Avery, Pius Thicknesse, Albert Runcorn, Simon Yaxley, Amycus and Alecto Carrow, and Theodore Nott, Sr.

"Thank you all for coming tonight on such short notice," said Lucius, "As you are aware, we had quite a shakeup at the Ministry during today's Wizengamot meeting. With Fudge currently in a Ministry holding cell and Amelia Bones the Acting Minister, we need to consolidate our position for what may happen in the future."

Patrick Parkinson spoke up, "That whole session appeared to be a set up by Sirius Black and Amelia Bones."

Runcorn replied, "Whether or not it was, the charges are extensive and quite serious. I doubt we'll see Fudge back as Minister."

Pius Thicknesse asked, "What do you recommend we do, Lucius?"

"First we need to find a candidate for Minister who can pose a credible threat to whomever the other side decides to support. Based on today's events, that appears to be Bones, but they could have someone else they are grooming for the position."

"Perhaps we should approach Sirius Black for his support," added Nott.

Lucius held back a laugh, "Sirius is nothing like his brother, Regulus. The thought of the guardian of Harry Potter even considering our position for one moment is laughable."

"Conceding the position of Minister to the opposite faction may be part of our strategy then. We should focus on consolidating our forces for the Chief Warlock position perhaps?" said Parkinson.

"That is one option, Patrick, however I fear we will find ourselves in a similar situation as we did today," said Lucius.

"Then we should do nothing, Lucius?" asked Yaxley.

"No, not nothing, but nothing overt. We must reopen our old networks but be discreet about it. Apparently there is no rush to hold the trials of those accused so we have a bit of time to prepare our plan. Unless, of course, any of you have a better idea?" Lucius drawled, letting his eyes roam around the room, settling on each member individually.

In Cheshire, a party of six Aurors had arrived at Bartemius Crouch, Senior's home. After searching his office in the Ministry, several things had seemed out of place to those who knew Crouch well. While Crouch may not have hated sending his son to Azkaban, that the man did not claim his body upon his death was quite out of character. The decision to search his house was actually standard practice. In fact, another team of Aurors was currently searching Delores Umbridge's house. Kingsley Shacklebolt was leading this team.

While unnecessary, he knocked on the door. Presently, a small elf answered. Shacklebolt identified himself and the purpose of their visit. The elf let them in. While they spread out, the elf went back to her post in the cellar. She hoped the wizards searching her master's house would leave them alone. Presently one of them did come downstairs. When he went to open the only door down there, the elf tried to convince him there was nothing there, just where she slept. Sensing something not quite right, Auror Savage went back upstairs to find Kingsley.

"Something not quite right about that elf, Shacklebolt."

"Well, that could be said about most house elves, Savage."

"Right, but this one seems to be guarding something. When I asked her what was in the room down there she just said it was her quarters. Every time I made to go towards the door she would put herself in front of it."

"Well, most pureblood families have secrets they don't want uncovered. Maybe old Crouch has a horde of dark artifacts he doesn't want found."

"Or maybe it's not a what but a who?" suggested Savage.

"Now there's a thought. Maybe we should check for other humans in this house?"

When Savage nodded his assent and the two of them went back down into the cellar. Shacklebolt waved his wand and chanted _Hominem Reveleo_. When the spell produced a red result instead of the expected green indicating no human was present, both wizards became concerned. Shacklebolt yelled for Dawlish, the next senior Auror to him, to join them.

"Something up, Kingsley?"

"Apparently we have company. Savage went to check the cellar here and Crouch's elf appears to be protecting something. I just did the spell to check for other human presence and it came back red."

"Shall we go see what the elf is hiding then?"

Kingsley put his finger to his lips to indicate silence, then cast a nonverbal stunner at the elf. With an Auror on each side of the door, Kingsley opened it. Confused at finding the room empty even thought it had the appearance of recently being inhabited, a thought came to him. He quickly cast an _Auguamenti_ and moved it around the room. When it indicated an area with an unseen shape, Savage cast a stunner at the area.

"What would Crouch be doing with someone hiding under an invisibility cloak?" questioned Dawlish.

"Well, I guess we're about to find out," said Shacklebolt, walking over to the area. He reached down and felt for the cloak until his hand fell on something silky. Grasping it, he pulled it off of whatever it was hiding. The three Aurors were a bit surprised to see a man lying there.

Savage was the first to find his voice, "Merlin's beard! It's Barty Crouch, Junior."

"But I thought he died in Azkaban," said Dawlish.

"Well, apparently he didn't. Guess we'd best notify Rufus to meet us in the holding area. Probably should take the elf with us too. The people down in Magical Beasts may want to question her. Dawlish, check with the others and see if they've completed their search. We'll bring these two up and take a portkey back to the Ministry," said Shacklebolt. He then summoned his _Patronus_ and sent it on to alert Scrimgeour.

Shacklebolt sent ropes to bind the younger Crouch and then floated him up the steps. Savage picked up the elf and carried her with him. When the search team reassembled in the foyer, there were several stunned Aurors.

"Did anyone find anything else?" asked Shacklebolt. When no one spoke up, he continued, "Savage and I are going to take a portkey back to the Ministry with these two. Dawlish, will you close up here, then meet us back at the Ministry?"

"Of course, Shacklebolt."

Kingsley found a old kitchen towel nearby and turned it into a port key. He placed Crouch's hand on it while Savage held onto the elf. Once he touched the towel, the four were transported directly to the Ministry holding cells.

The jailer on duty looked at the group and asked, "Well, who do we have here?"

Shacklebolt replied, "Barty Crouch, Jr., if you can believe it. Think we should put him in the cell next to his father?" he said with a smirk, "And I expect Scrimgeour here presently."

"What do you want to do with the elf?" asked the jailer.

"Summon someone from Magical Creatures here so we can decide what to do with her once we find out what she knows. Looks to be a busy day in your department, eh Millard?"

The jailer, Millard, agreed. He then opened up the nearest unoccupied cell for them to put Crouch in. They floated Crouch in then removed the ropes binding him. The jailer placed a pair of magic suppressing manacles on him. Once done, Shacklebolt cast _Ennervate_ to wake him up. It took the man a few moments to figure out he wasn't in the cellar of the Crouch home.

"Fancy meeting you here Savage. Thought I'd seen the last of you when you dropped me off at that hellhole of Azkaban."

"I could say the same to you Crouch. Can't wait to find out how you got out of there. Seems like Azkaban isn't as secure as we thought it was. I suspect your next trip there will be extremely short before the Dementor's give you a little kiss," sneered Savage.

"I will gladly die for my Master. He will know I alone escaped to help find him and bring him back to his glory."

"Your Master, Crouch?" asked Shacklebolt.

"The Dark Lord is my Master. He is but wounded, but will return again."

"Well, this time you won't be around to help him," said Savage.

There was a knock on the cell and Rufus Scrimgeour entered.

"It appears you've had a busy day, gentlemen. So where did you find this one hiding?"

"Crouch's cellar. His elf was guarding him. Found him hiding beneath an invisibility cloak. Not sure how long he's been there. Didn't want to question him until you'd gotten here."

"Well, as this is another in our current breaches of security, I believe I will summon Minister Bones to witness the questioning." He stepped out to send someone to get her.

"Before you got here, Scrimgeour, he was spouting some nonsense about finding his master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," said Shacklebolt.

"Did he now. Well, perhaps he will enlighten us as to his whereabouts then."

"You are not worthy of kissing the ground the Dark Lord walks on," spat Crouch.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want to hear him rattling off his Death Eater drivel," said Scrimgeour as he cast a silencing spell on the prisoner.

Amelia Bones had had an exhausting day since leaving the Wizengamot chambers. She first went to the Minister's office and notified those working there that she was now the Acting Minister. If any of them had problems working for her, then let her know now so she could find them another place to work. She did the same for the Undersecretary's office. Those working there were more than happy to throw their allegiance to the new Acting Minister to the point of offering to testify against Umbridge for other misdeeds done by their former boss. She then secluded herself in the Minister's office with the senior assistants so that she could learn just what had been going on in that office. After more than three hours of that, she got Scrimgeour's summons to the holding cells. Shaking her head at what else could have gone wrong, she descended once again.

"Well, Rufus, this must be extremely important if you're summoning me down here after everything else that's gone on today."

"Naturally. You know I sent a team to Crouch's house to search it earlier this afternoon."

"Yes, it's standard procedure. I take it you found something?"

"More precisely someone."

"Who?"

"Barty Crouch, Junior."

"But he died in Azkaban almost ten years ago."

"So we all thought. Kingsley and his team found him hiding under an invisibility cloak in a room off the cellar in Barty Senior's house. The house elf was protecting him. They had to stun the elf to get into the room. We held off the Veritaserum until you got here. Didn't know if you wanted anyone else here when we did it."

"While I'd just as soon send him right back off to Azkaban, I'd like to know how he managed to escape. That now makes two escapes from a purportedly secure prison. Did you check to see if he was under any spells or potions?"

"No. We can do that first off."

Shacklebolt had gone to get the bottle of Veritaserum and the antidote while they had waited for Minister Bones to appear. He returned just after she had arrived so the four reentered the cell with Barty, Jr.

Scrimgeour took over the process then, "Alright Crouch, first we need to check you out for spells and such. Hold still while I do that." He performed the spells used to detect these things, all coming back negative. "Well, nothing on you or in you. Stick out your tongue so we can get our questioning over with then send you right back to party with your Death Eater friends in Azkaban."

Of course he had to be difficult so Shacklebolt went over and performed the spell to force him to put out his tongue. Once the Veritaserum was administered, they all waited for a minute while it took effect.

Scrimgeour began, "State your name."

"Bartemius Crouch, Junior."

"Were you previously sentenced to a life term in Azkaban prison."

"Yes."

"When did you escape?"

"March, 1983."

"How did you escape?"

"My mother was dying so she and my father came to visit me one last time. Mother had convinced my father to help me escape as her dying wish."

"How did he do this?"

"He brought a large flask of polyjuice potion. Once in, he put one of my mother's hair in a cupful for me and one of my hairs in a cup for her. Once we had switched identities, I walked out with him and she stayed until she passed away soon after. She is the one buried in my grave at Azkaban."

"What have you been doing since your escape."

"Father has kept me a virtual prisoner in his home. The elf has been keeping watch over me. He's kept me under the _Imperius_ curse ever since."

"Are you currently under the _Imperius_ curse now?"

"No. Late last year I managed to throw it off. I've just let Father think I was still under it until the right opportunity came for me to escape."

"What were you planning to do then?"

"Seek out my Lord. I know he is still alive."

"How do you know this?"

"My dark mark has been getting darker again in the past few months. He must still be alive."

"Do you know where he may be?"

"No, but I'm sure there are others also searching for him. We will band together and search for him. We will help him regain the power he has lost."

Scrimgeour looked around and asked if anyone else had questions. When they didn't, he had Shacklebolt administer the antidote.

Once outside, Amelia turned to Rufus, "Shall we see what Crouch, Senior has to say?"

"I expect he will deny everything."

"Which is why we have the Veritaserum. I suspect once we tell him we've already questioned his son under it he will likely cooperate."

The group moved down the line of cells until they came to the one for Crouch, Senior. After instructing the jailer to open the cell, the four of them entered. Crouch was still defiant.

"Amelia, it's about time you came to release me! I have done nothing wrong!"

"Well, Barty, that remains to be seen. Rufus had his Aurors search your house this afternoon. Care to hazard a guess at what they found?"

"They were just wasting their time. You found nothing!"

"You mean holding your son prisoner in your cellar was nothing?"

Crouch still tried to remain defiant, "I have no idea what you are talking about! My son died in Azkaban quite a few years ago."

"Yes, that is what you would like everyone to believe. Then please explain why we now have him in a holding cell just down from you."

Crouch, Senior sagged onto the bed in his cell, "My wife. She made me make an Unbreakable Vow that I would help her release him from prison. It tore her heart to see him there and even more so that I was the one who put him there in the first place. She never was the same after he was convicted. She kept wasting away. The healers at St. Mungo's had no explanation nor could they do anything for her. I was able to procure a large batch of polyjuice potion and slipped it in with us when we made our final visit to see him. We quickly made the switch. I left her to die in that evil place while my son, who was guilty of the crimes he was sentenced for, got to live free."

"How did no one else know he was free? Surely you had guests over."

"I placed him under the _Imperius_ curse. If I knew someone was coming, I'd have my elf slip him a sleeping potion to keep him quiet. If it was someone I wasn't expecting, I'd have my elf keep watch over him."

Scrimgeour asked the next question, "What would have happened if he managed to throw off the _Imperius_ curse?"

"Impossible. My son was a weak man. He never could make decisions for himself. That's how he fell in with the Lestranges."

"Thank you, Barty. We will be going now," said Amelia.

Back in the corridor, Kingsley asked about interrogating the elf.

Scrimgeour answered, "There should be someone from the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures here by now. Shall we see?"

When they made it back to the entrance, Amos Diggory was, in fact, waiting for them. He had not been allowed access to the elf without the arresting Auror's permission. When he saw the group walking back towards him, he stood up.

"Hello, Amos," said Amelia.

"Minister. Please let me extend my congratulations," said Amos.

Amelia laughed, "I'm just the Acting Minister until all of this confusion is cleared up. No need to stand on ceremony with me, Amos."

"Thank you Amelia. I understand you have an elf I need to interview. Can you tell me more?"

"I believe Kingsley has the full story, but let's go into the room where they've put the elf to discuss this."

The jailer in charge led them to a small room off to the side of the jailer's station where the stunned elf had been put.

Kingsley took up the story, "Do you by chance recognize the elf?"

"Yes, that's Bartemius Crouch's elf. I've been to his house several times over the years. Her name is Winky. She seemed more overly protective of her charge than other elves but nothing out of the ordinary. I take it there was a problem."

"When we searched the Crouch house this afternoon as part of the arresting procedures we noticed a bit of abnormal behavior. She kept trying to keep Savage from entering a room in the cellar. When we checked the cellar for other humans, the spell came back positive. We had to stun her to get to the door she had been guarding. When we opened it we found Barty Crouch, Jr. hiding under an invisibility cloak."

"Barty Crouch, Jr? I thought he died in Azkaban years ago."

"As did we all. Apparently Crouch, Sr. polyjuiced him to take his wife's place while his wife took his son's place. She was already close to death at the time."

"What do you need from the elf then?"

"We need to see what she can confirm for us. We've already talked to both the Crouches."

"Do you know if this room has been warded against elf magic? Otherwise she could pop herself right out of here when you wake her."

Amelia looked thoughtful, "I am beginning to see we need to update our wards in this area as well as Azkaban. Can you do this for us, Amos?"

"If you will give me a moment." He walked around the room chanting several different spells. After a few short minutes he returned, "She should not be able to leave now. You do realize that if she was carrying out the orders of her master there is nothing we can do to prosecute her."

"Of course. Kingsley, if you would please."

Kingsley uttered the _Ennervate_ spell and the little elf woke up, looking around.

"What is your name, elf?" asked Amos.

"I be Winky Master."

"And which family do you serve?"

"I serve Master Crouch, sir."

"Is there anyone else in the house, Winky?"

"Oh no, sir! Master Crouch be by himself since Mistress Crouch passed."

"Can you tell me what was in the room you were trying to protect?"

"Oh no sir! That be my room. We keep extra food in there for when Master Crouch has guests."

"Then you were not guarding Barty Crouch, Junior?"

The elf looked stunned. She had failed her master. She started rocking back and forth.

"I do what Master Crouch tells me to do. Oh no. I be a bad elf. Master Crouch will not be happy."

"How long have you kept Barty Junior hidden?"

"I know nothing about Master Barty, sir. Master Barty died years ago, just before Mistress Crouch."

Amelia motioned to Kingsley to let her take over, "Winky, you are not a bad elf if Master Crouch ordered you to tell no one who you were guarding. We've already talked to him and he told us he had you protecting Barty Junior."

The little elf was beside herself with tears now. She kept rocking herself back and forth whispering "I'm a bad elf. I deserve to be punished," over and over.

Amos jumped in, "I should take her to my office for now. What would you have me do with her? We don't usually imprison elves for following the directions of their masters."

Amelia replied, "Yes, keep her until she has calmed down then send her home. Someone will need to keep an eye on the house until something is done with both Crouch Senior and Junior."

After leaving the jail area, Amelia turned to Rufus, "Well, prepare a press release for my review to send out to the _Daily Prophet_ and the other news sources. Might as well get it all out in tomorrow's edition."

Elsewhere in the wizarding world, similar confusion reigned. In France, the offices of the International Confederation of Wizards was trying to fend off all of the questions pouring in to it. They had a small office in Paris staffed strictly with administrative personnel. Whenever they had a question, they'd just send an owl to Dumbledore. Well, now the problem was Dumbledore and they didn't have an answer for their members. There was a scheduled meeting in early December so their stock answer they were giving everyone was "This issue will be discussed at the December meeting." This couldn't have been the first time a Supreme Mugwump was incapacitated so there had to be a precedence somewhere. They were frantically searching for it in the historical records.

At Durmstrang Institute, the magical school in northern Europe, Igor Karkaroff was pondering the latest news. His school was scheduled to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament next year at Hogwarts. The only reason he had agreed to it was the fact that Albus Dumbledore would be there to ensure the safety of the participants. With him out, participation in the competition was questionable. Adding to the confusion was the incarceration of Bartemius Crouch, the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation in England. He had been the primary contact for both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. His contact at the Bulgarian Ministry had yet to contact him about the future of the competition. He had high hopes for his protégée, Viktor Krum, to win; now that was all in doubt. Ah well, Viktor still had the Quidditch World Cup to look forward to.

Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, was having similar thoughts. She had been quite reluctant to allow her school to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The history of it was filled with deaths of the participants. She had several students well qualified to be the school's Champion. While she was quite familiar with Albus Dumbledore, she had never visited Hogwarts and had been looking forward to that opportunity as well as meeting their professors. Contrary to that of her counterpart at Durmstrang, the French Ministry official negotiating their participation had been in contact with her to let her know of the latest events. She was also now in a "wait and see" position.

In the wilds of Albania, a dark presence could be felt but not seen. This presence could not read about the latest events in his former homeland. Forced to subsist by inhabiting lesser beings such as rodents and snakes, the former Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, eagerly awaited the return of at least one of his loyal followers. He had thought that someone would have found him by now but evidently even his most ardent followers had deserted him. One day, they would pay for their treason.


	47. Catching A Breath

A/N: I'd already planned the end of the chapter out before I read _The Shadow of the Wizarding World_ by **jamnaz79**.

47\. Catching a Breath

The next few days were still a jumble of confusion as the wizarding world in Great Britain resigned themselves to the fact that the man they had put their trust in to lead the Light was, in fact, as corrupt as those thought to be part of the Dark. Previous alliances and factions were questioning their choices and determining their way forward.

Augusta Longbottom had invited Sirius to meet with Tiberius Ogden and other members of the Wizengamot who tended to vote with the Light. Among those in attendance were the representatives of the Abbott, Davies, Davis, Doge, Fawcett, MacMillan, Marchbanks, and Wood Houses. After passing tea to each guest, she sat down, turning the meeting over to Lord Ogden.

"Thank you all for coming today. The events of the past day are rather startling, to say the least. I believe we made a positive step forward in selecting Amelia Bones as the Acting Minister. We need to think about whether we consider her as a permanent replacement for Fudge or if we have another, more qualified, candidate available which we did not consider in the time we had yesterday. We also need to think about who we may want to serve as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

Lord Doge spoke up, "How do we know this is a permanent change? Fudge has wormed his way out of other tight spots before and Dumbledore has always been virtually untouchable."

Augusta spoke up, "Perhaps we should have Lord Black explain more about the charges that were preferred yesterday for both Fudge and Dumbledore. I believe you were primarily responsible for them."

"Thank you Madam Longbottom. Yes, you could say I am the one responsible for the charges against all three men. Why don't we discuss the easier ones first. Bartemius Crouch, Senior, was head of the DMLE when I was arrested. When Fudge brought me in, he and Dumbledore made the decision to send me straight to Azkaban. As the chief prosecutor, he had the responsibility to ensure I was granted a trial with all of the appropriate protections. He failed to carry out these responsibilities for twelve years."

Madam Fawcett had a question, "How do you know he was responsible?"

"I'm not saying the full responsibility is his, but he had the lion's share to ensure I was given the same safeguards they were giving Death Eaters. Any other questions about Crouch? I just saw the article in the _Daily Prophet_ briefly this morning about his son so I have no comment on that." Seeing that no one had anything further to add, he continued, "Cornelius Fudge was the first person on the scene when Pettigrew blew up the street and killed all of those muggles. He was in the Department of Magical Catastrophies at the time. With the Aurors and Obliviators busy trying to get control over the situation, he was given the responsibility to take me to the Ministry. Seems a bit lax to have a Ministry functionary be the arresting officer, but in this case, he was."

Lord Wood spoke next, "Be that as it may, how do you see charging him as being responsible?"

"At any time after that, he could have inquired as to the disposition of my case, but he did not. I am asserting that he was swayed by both Crouch and Dumbledore to keep the issue quiet, hence the conspiracy charge."

Madam Abbott asked, "Well, I think those may be flimsy charges, but I see your point. You were denied twelve years of freedom and, rightly so, want to ensure it does not happen again. Now, tell us about our Chief Warlock."

"Madam Marchbanks has already heard these charges as she asked me to speak to the Hogwarts Board of Governors yesterday. Those charges that relate to his treatment of my godson, Harry Potter, will not be discussed. They will come out at trial, but for now I wish to respect his privacy. As to the charges relating to my capture and imprisonment, he was summoned immediately after I was brought to the Ministry. He didn't even speak to me to ask me if the events were true. Apparently he took what Crouch and Fudge had said as the truth and signed the document to send me to Azkaban."

Lord Doge spoke up, "I believe we have covered this topic sufficiently to get a thorough understanding of that issue. I am quite concerned over the charges involving Hogwarts. It sounds like Albus put the entire school at grave risk three separate times. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is. The first two charges are somewhat related. Two years ago, Albus brought Nicolas Flamel's fabled Philosopher's Stone to the castle for, as he put it, 'safe keeping'. He hid it in an out of the way part of the castle with multiple protections guarding it. Rather than keep the Stone's presence quiet, he announces at the start of year feast for everyone to keep out of this particular hallway unless they wanted to suffer a painful death. Now, tell me what would happen if you announced something like this to a school full of teenagers?"

The group all chuckled at that remark. Lord Fawcett had the next question, "While placing the Stone in the school might not have been the brightest idea Albus may have had, I don't see where that would support a charge of child endangerment. And apparently someone did go after it if you have this information. Is it safe to say your godson was involved?"

"Yes, Harry and two of his friends are the ones who went after it. Let me remind you that they were just first years when this happened. Let me describe the protections he had on the stone. The first obstacle was a Cerberus. It was just inside the door of the hallway Albus had warned the students away from. If you were able to get past it and down the trap door below, you would fall into a nest of devil's snare. From there you would have to capture a flying key among hundreds to open the next door. The next obstacle was a full-size wizard's chess set. You had to play across to get to the next door. To successfully traverse the board, one of his friends had to sacrifice himself for the win."

"Sacrifice himself? Surely you don't mean…" asked Lord Davies.

"No, he was merely knocked out. However, that just left two of them to proceed."

"Why didn't they tell a professor what they were doing and let them handle it?" asked Lord.

"They tried, but were brushed off. At the time, they suspected one of the professors was the one going after the Stone."

"Then they should have told the Headmaster!"

"They Headmaster had received an urgent call to the Ministry and was not available."

Madam Longbottom interrupted, "Shall we let him continue this tale?"

Sirius did continue, answering the questions that he could and making note of the ones he couldn't. When he got to the part about Quirrellmort, there were the appropriate gasps and shudders.

Lord MacMillan asked, "You mean my grandson was subjected to that thing for all of that year?"

"Yes, as was every other student."

Madam Wood added, "As was mine. However, I would like to hear more about the third charge before I make further comment."

Sirius told the story of Harry's second year. When he got to the part about the petrifications, Madam Wood interjected, "So this is what happened to Cedric's housemate. He said something at the Christmas Holidays about one who had been taken to the hospital wing for an extensive time."

He also got the same reaction to the basilisk that the others had initially given, having a hard time believing the snake was that large. He told them to watch the _Daily Prophet_ for an advertisement of the sale of the basilisk parts. Madam Marchbanks supported the story by telling the others she had actually been in the Chamber of Secrets yesterday, leaving out the part about the Founders' Library. When all had been disclosed he sat back to see what would happen.

Madam Longbottom was the first to speak up, "Apparently there have been quite a few things going on at Hogwarts that my grandson has seen fit to keep from me. Griselda, I hope you're doing something about this nonsense! What are they thinking there? Where was Minerva in all of this? Surely she should have intervened at some point."

Madam Marchbanks responded, "Unfortunately, that appears to be related to another of the charges. As I understand it, Dumbledore placed a charm on her to prevent her from questioning his actions."

Sirius took control of the situation, "The charm has been removed. It was detected and removed just prior to the beginning of term. There will be another charge added as he also placed a restriction charm on the school mediwitch."

The discussion continued into the afternoon. While some immediate actions were decided, most were held off pending the results of the trials of the accused.

Amelia's second day as Acting Minister was just as busy as her first. Still trying to get the pulse of the Ministry, she spent the day talking to the various Department Heads. One of the first things she noticed was that the Minister's Assistant was practically useless. She spent her time flirting with many of the visitors to the office and had no idea how to properly run it. One of her first actions as Acting Minister was to terminate her employment. She then broke the news to Rufus Scrimgeour that she was moving the current Assistant to the DMLE to the Minister's Office. Delores Umbridge's office was sealed so anything of importance was locked up in there. She was beginning to think most of her previous impressions of the Department Heads were spot on. Some appeared to be rewards for donations to Fudge or his favorite causes. One thing was for certain, Lucius Malfoy's previous unrestricted access to the Minister's Office was officially over.

She had scheduled a meeting with Rufus for the end of the day to discuss the five prisoners in the holding cells. It was important to have the trials as quickly as possible but ensure the prisoners had secured counsel if they desired it. She was currently thinking that Thursday would be an appropriate time to hold them, however, she would take their wishes into account. If they felt they needed additional time, she would allow it, within reason. There was a knock on the door and her assistant, Emily Weathers, stuck her head in, "Rufus is here, Minister."

"Thank you Emily. Please show him in."

"Minister, I hope your day has been better than mine," said Rufus.

"Rufus, you've known me for how many years now? When we're behind closed doors, feel free to call me Amelia."

Rufus visibly relaxed and nodded his head, "Thank you, Amelia. I'm sure you've had your hands full today. Did you need something specific from me? You've already appropriated my assistant."

"Actually, I have a few things for you. Have you decided who you are going to put in charge of the Auror's office yet?"

"It's a tossup between Shacklebolt and Robards. Robards has more experience by a year, but Shacklebolt is more attuned to the politics of the position as well as being an exceptional Auror."

"Those would have been my choices as well. I don't want to influence you in any way. It is your department and you will have to decide who will be the best person."

"Thank you. I'm sure we will be working quite closely in the coming days; at least until the current trials are complete."

"I believe you are correct. Actually, it is the trials I wanted to talk to you about. Have you had a chance to talk to the prisoners today? Have any of them requested counsel?"

"I have not spoken to them directly but I have received reports from the Chief Jailer. All but Dumbledore have had visits from counsel today. Dumbledore has requested a meeting with you to discuss a matter he claims is of 'grave importance.' When asked for more information, he declined to elaborate."

"That does not surprise me. I suspected some posturing from him. What about the others?"

"Crouch, Senior is pretty much resigned to his fate and has requested trial at the earliest convenience. Crouch, Junior continues to rave about his Master. His father's counsel visited with him, but came away shaking his head. Umbridge still claims her innocence and demands her release to anyone who passes by. Fudge was visited by Lord Cornfoot. Presumably we can thank Lucius Malfoy for that."

"Have you given thought to when you would like to have the trials?"

Rufus was a bit surprised by the question, "I thought that would be up to you and the Wizengamot."

"Well, it is to some extent, but I thought you may want to have input."

"The sooner the better in my opinion. Crouch Senior and Junior as well as Umbridge should be very quick. Fudge and Dumbledore could be a bit messy."

"I thought the same thing. I was thinking of having the first three next Thursday. We could possibly have Fudge's as well. I'd like to save Dumbledore for a day of his own, possibly the same day as the Wizengamot meeting. I need to consult with Lord Ogden on his preferences."

"Those are good days. Will you be recusing yourself from the vote?"

"Yes, and to make your life a bit easier, I'll take the prosecution of all but Crouch Junior, if you don't mind."

Rufus breathed a sigh of relief, "I would most appreciate that."

"It is not fair to you to throw you into that snake pit unawares. We have an additional charge to add to Dumbledore of another count of illegal charms. They scanned the school mediwitch and found charms on her affecting both Potter and Professor Snape."

"What was the man thinking?"

"I don' t know if we'll ever find out," she sighed, then stood up, "Well, let me see what he wants. Better to get it over with before I go home. Would you walk with me?"

"Certainly." After telling her assistant where she was going, they took the lift to the lower level of the Ministry. She was spending more time down here than when she was in charge of the DMLE. The jailer perked up when he saw it was the Minister.

"Minister, what may I help you with this evening?"

"I came to see Albus Dumbledore."

"Yes, he's been asking to speak with you. Did you wish to speak with him in his cell or would you like him brought to an interrogation room?"

"I think an interrogation room would be good. I'll be waiting in Room One."

"I'll bring him to you."

Rufus went with the jailer to escort the former Chief Warlock. He was quite humble and thanked them for letting him see the new Acting Minister. He looked every one of his one hundred and twelve years.

"Amelia, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I understand you are now our Acting Minister."

"Yes I am. Let's not go through the usual verbal dance here, please tell me what you want."

"I need to speak with Harry Potter. While I would prefer to talk to him alone, I am sure Sirius won't let him near me."

"And why should I grant this?"

"There are several things that I need to discuss with him that are of the utmost importance for all of the wizarding world. I had hoped to keep this burden from him for several more years but it appears that I no longer have that luxury."

"That is an unusual request. Why should I grant it? How do I know you might not harm the boy further?"

"You do not. I only have my word to give you now. I would give you a Wizard's Oath, however, as you know, I no longer have my wand."

That got Amelia's attention, "I will have to speak with Lord Black to see if he is amenable to this. I suspect he is disinclined to agree to it."

"Please tell him that once I have had a chance to discuss these things with Harry, I will plead guilty to all charges against me and accept whatever punishment the Wizengamot chooses."

Amelia was all ears. Whatever Albus had to discuss must be extremely important. It was worth playing along a bit more to see where this was leading.

"Albus, have you even consulted with a solicitor about the charges against you?"

"There is no need. I am fully aware of the circumstances involving each one. My only request is to address the Wizengamot before they pass sentence."

"I will have to consider your request. I expect Sirius will require that he be allowed to sit in on this discussion."

"I am certain he will. I will accept that condition. I would ask that you not speak of this request to anyone, not even your new head of the DMLE."

"Fair enough. I will forward your request."

Dumbledore was escorted back to his cell while Amelia and Rufus returned to her office.

"So what did he want?"

"It is an unusual request which he asked if I would keep confidential for now. However, if it is granted, he is willing to plead guilty to all charges."

Rufus stopped, "He what?"

"Apparently whatever it is he needs to do is worth trading for his freedom."

"I look forward to hearing more." Rufus got off at the level for the DMLE while Amelia continued to the Ministerial level.

"Emily, would you see if Lord Black is available? He may be at Potter Hall. I'm not certain what the floo address is for the Black residence. If he is available, would you see if he would step through?"

"And if he inquires as to the subject?"

"I know this will be a bit mysterious, but tell him it is a matter of utmost importance."

"Of course, Minister. I'll let you know when he has arrived."

While she waited, Amelia pondered the short discussion she had just had with the so-called Leader of the Light. Presently there was a knock on the door then Emily stuck her head in, "Lord Black is here, Minister."

"Thank you Emily. Please show him in then you may leave for the evening."

"Will you need me tomorrow?"

"No, enjoy your weekend."

Sirius entered the Minister's office. He looked around. It was still filled with quite a few of Fudge's excesses.

"Lord Black, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course, Minister. Your assistant said it was urgent."

"While we're behind closed doors, I see no need to stand on ceremony, Sirius, unless you would prefer to do so."

"Of course not, Amelia. I am very happy to be working with you rather than hiding from you. Now, what may I do for you?"

Sirius' eyes grew wide as she put up privacy and security wards.

"I'm not sure these are necessary, but I don't want to take any chances. Albus wanted to speak with me today. I only found out about it this evening and decided to do it now as I had a few moments. He requested to speak to Harry."

"Absolutely not!"

"He said that would probably be your answer. He offered to give me a Wizard's Oath that he would not harm him further."

"And you believe him?"

"Well, I wasn't sure until he told me that if we allowed this, he would agree to plead guilty to all charges. That's what got my attention."

Sirius issued a low whistle, "I never thought it would be that easy. Whatever it is must be pretty important for him to trade his freedom for a few minutes with my godson."

"I thought the same. I'm not asking you to agree. That's something you will have to decide for yourself."

"But you're just as curious as I am as to what it could be."

Amelia nodded, "Is it really going to be this easy?"

"I think we should agree, but with the proviso that he will still be questioned under Veritaserum so the Wizengamot will know the full extent of his crimes. If we just accept his guilty plea and toss him into Azkaban, people will wonder what we are hiding."

"I agree. I want to ensure my activities as Acting Minister are transparent to all, not just the privileged. I will send a note to him that we accept his request and are trying to find an appropriate time for Harry to be away from Hogwarts."

"I'll contact Minerva and see if he could be available on Sunday. Would one in the afternoon work?"

"I think that would be fine. I would like to be here, even if I'm not in the room with you."

"Of course. You have been an invaluable asset in all of this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"I just did a job that should have been done years ago."

Friday afternoon was a double DADA class. Once it was over, the students were free for the rest of the day. Harry was looking forward to a bit of a break before starting into his weekend homework. He already had Quidditch practice at two on Saturday. He was surprised when Remus stopped him.

"Harry, we spoke with Madam Pomfrey last night. She is available for your recheck this afternoon. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Is everything ok?"

"It is now."

"Her too?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Does Sirius know?"

"He and Minerva were there when I did the scan. He made a copy of the results to send to Minister Bones."

"So is there anything else I need to know?"

"No, nothing more for now. Please let me know what she says."

"Sure." Harry left and joined his friends in the hallway.

"Is anything wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"No, everything's fine. I just need to see Madam Pomfrey. She's going to check and see if I can give up the potions."

"That'd be good mate. No more spending your Saturdays in the dungeons with Snape."

"He's actually been pretty decent to us. Mum must have really laid into him," he said with a smirk.

"I bet that would have been something to see. You mean you didn't listen in?"

"Oh no! I wanted to be as far away from there as I could get. Luckily he had a stack of cauldrons to wash. All I know is he's been a bit nicer to me, well at least when we're in private. He's still a snarky git in public."

By now they'd reached the Hospital Wing. Harry told his friends they didn't have to stay with him, but they told him they would anyway. Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him when he entered.

"Madam Pomfrey, Professor Lupin said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, Mr. Potter. I believe you require another scan to see if the potions have done their work. If you would just lay here, please."

"Can't I just sit in a chair or something? I've spent too much time in that bed already."

"Ordinarily I'd say yes, but I seem to find my records a bit incomplete. I don't see where I have ever done a baseline physical scan on you. I would like to do that now and correct that error."

Harry quickly realized what she was not saying. So the one she'd done his first year had come up missing.

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey."

"Now, as you know, this will take a bit of time, but should be painless. You may speak with your friends but I ask that you all refrain from anything that could excite Mr. Potter or I'll have to ask you to leave."

Both friends nodded. With a wave of her wand, the comprehensive scan spell began to record its results on a piece of parchment. Trying to think of something uncontroversial, Harry asked Ron what he thought about Ravenclaw's chances against Hufflepuff next week in the Quidditch match. That was enough to set him off, prattling on about the teams and their strengths and weaknesses. There was a particularly thorough analysis of the two seekers, Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory. Hermione just smiled, knowing what Harry was trying to do. This let Ron lead the conversation while keeping Harry's mind off what the scan was doing. Luckily this time the scan didn't take an hour and a half.

Madam Pomfrey took the results and looked them over carefully. She tried not to show her emotions, but she was far too embarrassed to realize she had totally overlooked the serious health condition of her patient.

Finally she spoke up, "Well, it appears the potion has been doing its work. Your bone density is almost at normal. You've apparently put on a bit more than ten pounds in the last two months. I'd like to see you gain another five. Remus said the goblins healed the fractures properly."

"Yes Ma'am. Oh, can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly."

"Why would Skelegrow fix my arm, but it wouldn't fix the bone loss in my jaw?"

"There are different types of Skelegrow. The one I gave you last year was strictly designed to regrow bones. Your bones leave a signature of where they were. The Skelegrow senses it and fills in those areas. To have healed your bone loss, I would have needed to use a different version which is in a base of milk. It is designed to seep into the bone structure and fill in any areas of lower density."

"Thank you. Nobody else has been able to explain it to me."

"I'm sure if you asked Professor Snape he could give you a more comprehensive explanation. Now, while you have recovered quite a bit from the malnutrition, I would like to have you stay on the potion for one more month. By then you should have gained the additional five pounds to put you into the normal weight range for your height. You've also gained some height. While you may never be as tall as you could have been had this not happened, you are recovering nicely. I understand you are brewing your own nutrient supplement under Professor Snape's guidance."

"Yes Ma'am."

"I'm going to send him a note to make a slight alteration to the recipe. If you add an ounce of powdered plimpie egg shells it should finish the job nicely."

"Is that for added calcium, Madam Pomfrey," asked Hermione.

"Yes. While just about any egg shell would do, we've found that plimpie egg shells provide a better source of calcium and is much easier to mix with other ingredients in potions. They dissolve quite nicely. It will lighten the colour of the potion slightly as a result. Now, are there any other questions?"

When everyone shook their heads, she dismissed them back to their dorm. It was still over an hour before they began to serve dinner.

Sirius contemplated the latest turn of events. He was quite curious as to why Albus wanted to speak with Harry. He needed to ask Minerva if he could take Harry out on Sunday to do that. Suddenly thinking of the date, he decided to do something else as well. He pulled out his mirror and called Remus.

"Padfoot. Is anything wrong?"

"No. I was wondering if you could help me with something. Albus has requested a meeting with Harry. Amelia let me know just now."

"Any idea what it could be about?"

"No and neither does she. I set it up for one on Sunday afternoon, assuming Minerva has no problem."

"I doubt she would overrule the Minster for Magic."

"I'll call Harry and let him know I'll pick him up at ten in the Entrance Hall."

"Why so early?"

"I thought I'd take him to Godric's Hollow. I know you will not be able to go due to the full moon, but I think it's appropriate to do it on Sunday."

"Yes. Thank you for thinking about this. I'd wanted to take him there during the summer but there just wasn't enough time with everything else going on. I'll speak with Minerva now."

"I'll call Harry shortly. Take care of yourself, Moony."


	48. True Confessions

**A/N: I haven't posted a disclaimer in a bit. I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the books. I have borrowed them from Madam Rowling just to play around.**

48\. True Confessions

Harry was curious as to what Sirius had planned for the morning. While he wasn't happy about the meeting with Professor Dumbledore in the afternoon, he knew it must be something important for Sirius to agree to it. Even stranger was the request to wear muggle clothes and bring a robe with him. He did manage to get his Charms homework done before he had to meet Sirius in the Entrance Hall. Remus wasn't at breakfast that morning, apparently still suffering the effects of last night's full moon. He was surprised to see Professor McGonagall waiting with him.

"Is anything wrong, Professor?"

"No Mr. Potter. I just needed to have a quick word with your godfather before you go."

"Oh. Do you know anything about the meeting with Professor Dumbledore this afternoon?"

"No, I wish I did. It was a surprise to me as well."

Sirius took that opportunity to enter the castle. Professor McGonagall took him off to the side for a moment, "Do you think it's safe for Harry to meet with Albus?"

"We'll be in the holding cell area in a heavily warded room. They've also got magic suppressing bands on him. Apparently it must be extremely important if he would use that as his only requirement to garner a guilty plea."

"Please let me know if there is anything I need to know about."

"Of course. Thank you for excusing Harry from the Halloween Feast tonight too."

"It never occurred to me that Harry might find this date difficult to manage. At least I can be assured there won't be a troll for him to chase."

Sirius chuckled, "I hope not. I'll try to have him back in one piece this evening. Have you seen Remus this morning?"

"Yes. I unwarded his room and took him to see Poppy. He appears to be in relatively good health, just tired and sore."

"Good. I'll talk to him tonight when I bring Harry back."

Sirius and Harry walked to the front gate then Sirius apparated them to Potter Hall. Once Harry had gotten a hug from Dobby and hung his robe up, Sirius apparated them to Godric's Hollow.

"Where are we?"

"Godric's Hollow. I haven't been here since that night. I thought we both could spend a little time here today."

"Thanks. Remus wanted to bring me here but there were just too many other things going on. So my parents are buried here?"

"As far as I know. Would you like to go there first or see the house where you were born?"

"I guess the house first."

Sirius led him down a lane to a house that looked like the top had been blown off. The yard was overgrown with grass and weeds. When Sirius put his hand on the gate, a sign rose up out of the ground. It was a sign commemorating what had happened there twelve years previous. People had written over it, most offering their thanks.

"Why did they leave it like this so that everyone can see it?"

"Well, I'm sure not everyone can see it. It's probably got muggle repelling charms on it."

"Can we do anything about it?"

"Well, I will look into it. I need to see if the Ministry has taken it over as a monument to the end of the last war."

"How could they do that? Doesn't it belong to me?"

"Yes, in theory."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the Ministry has been known to appropriate things when they want to. I'll look into it. Would you like to look inside? At least the first floor. I don't think it's safe to go upstairs."

"No. Not until I know that it's still mine. Knowing the Ministry, they'd accuse me of trespassing."

They walked back down the street to the lone church in town and through the kissing gate into the cemetery. It took a while to find it, but finally they were standing in front of a stone with Harry's parents' names carved on it.

"Mum was older than Dad?"

"Yeah, and she didn't let him forget it either. When she turned seventeen before he did, she made sure he knew it every day."

"What does that saying mean? 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death'?"

"I don't know. Albus must have put that on there. I'm sure your dear aunt wouldn't have thought about having a stone placed on their graves. Another of his mysterious double-speak."

"So how long did they live here?"

"They moved here shortly before you were born. Godric's Hollow is one of those mixed muggle and magical towns. The muggles know something isn't quite right about some of their residents, but as long as everyone minds their own business, the Ministry looks the other way as well as the muggle government."

"So do I know anyone else here?"

"I doubt it. I'm not even sure who lives here anymore."

"I wish I'd brought some flowers with me."

"Are you a wizard or not, Harry?" asked Sirius as he conjured a bouquet of lilies. He handed them to Harry to place. The pair stayed a few minutes more, then went back to Potter Hall to prepare for the meeting at the Ministry. Dobby fixed them a light lunch, giving them a few minutes to decompress before flooing to the Ministry.

Amelia met them at the security desk, escorting them down to the Ministry holding cells. It wasn't lost on either of the wizards that the Acting Minister was escorting them and not an Auror. She led them to an interrogation room while one of the jailers went to get the prisoner.

"I would like to stay with you through this if you don't mind," said Amelia.

"Not at all. Although I expect Albus might not be too happy about it. I suspect he's still trying to maintain his master puppeteer persona even until the end. Did he give you any idea what this might be about?"

"No, but evidently it's important enough to him."

At that point, the jailer escorted Dumbledore into the room then stepped out, securely locking the door behind him.

"Harry, Sirius, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. Amelia, there is no need for you to be here. As I said earlier, I will not harm Harry or Sirius."

"While I understand you have no ill intentions, with all that has transpired, I do not feel comfortable not having some type of guard in the room. I thought you would find me more acceptable than anyone else."

Albus weighed the options he had and acquiesced to her presence, "Very well. Harry, please let me offer my sincerest apologies for all that has happened to you as a result of my well intentioned decisions. While I knew Petunia might not be the kindest of guardians, I never thought she would stoop to the level of abuse and neglect."

Sirius interrupted, "Did you even bother to check on him?"

"No, I did not personally visit him. I did have Arabella Figg living nearby keeping an eye on him. I had promised your aunt that no one from the magical world would bother her if she agreed to take you in. Arabella did let me know you were not being appropriately treated, Harry, but again, I did not think it was as serious as it has turned out to be. I do not expect you to forgive me, nor would I ask you to, I ask only that you listen to what I have to say."

Harry sat through the former Headmaster's speech impassively. There were many things he wanted to say, but he would wait for now. Better to see what he had to say first.

"I can't say I will ever be able to forgive you, nor will I ever forget, but I was led to believe you had something important you needed to talk to me about, Headmaster."

"I am no longer your Headmaster, Harry. You may call me Albus; you have earned that right."

Harry just nodded that he accepted his offer of familiarity.

"Nobody but you knows what happened twelve years ago, and you were much too young to be able to recall it. While you were able to destroy Voldemort's physical body, from all that I have been able to ascertain, you did not destroy his soul."

"Yeah, he made horcruxes so he wouldn't die," said Harry.

Albus was shocked, "How do you know about this, Harry?"

"The Goblins. When they did my scan, they found one in me. And the diary last year was as well. At least I know one way to destroy them. I just need to keep a basilisk fang handy. Good thing I asked the goblins to give me a few."

It was Albus' turn to be surprised this time, "Your scar?"

"Yeah. Apparently he split his soul one time too many," Harry said ruefully, rubbing the aforementioned scar.

Sirius asked, "Do you know how many he did make, Albus?" Seeing what information he could get before divulging the destruction of another one.

"Not exactly. From what I've been able to determine, there are at least three, possibly four, others; three are related to the Hogwarts Founders and the fourth to his original family. In my office you will find a series of memories which identify the ones I suspect he made. He was able to acquire Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket. I suspect he also managed to find Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem."

Amelia interrupted, "But the diadem has been lost for ages."

"Yes it has. I believe Tom was able to persuade the Grey Lady to reveal its location and, once he had made his horcrux, hid it within the castle. I have yet to find its location."

Sirius decided now was the time to admit to finding the locket, "Well you can cross the locket off of your list. Apparently my brother Regulus learned of that one and was able to steal it back. It's been in Black Hall since he acquired it shortly before his death. I had the Goblins destroy it. They were able to confirm it was a horcrux. That leaves Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, and Harry. What's the other one?"

"Tom was a descendant of Slytherin through the Gaunt family line. There is also a family ring that he may have turned into one. I believe it may have been the first one he created. I have an idea where it may be located. There is a memory of an Auror's visit to the Gaunt family in the collection. I suspect it is related to that property."

"Now we have a total of six plus the soul piece from Quirrellmort that's floating around somewhere. No wonder the man was nuts!" said Sirius.

"There is a memory of a conversation with Horace Slughorn where he discussed this very thing however the memory I have has been tampered with. I suggest you talk with Horace and see if you can get him to either give you the complete memory or tell you what was discussed."

Both Amelia and Sirius laughed when Slughorn's name was mentioned. Harry had to ask, "What's so funny?"

"Horace Slughorn was the Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House before Snape. While he was good at his craft, he was more interested in who you were or where you could go and what he could gain from it," replied Sirius, "he thought I was going to be in his house, but when I wasn't, he ignored me. However, when my brother Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, it was like he was a celebrity and could do no wrong. Well, Amelia, you're probably the one most likely to get anything out of him as you are the epitome of influence to him."

"While I'm quite busy at the moment, I'll try to find some time to get him on my schedule. I'd rather wait until after you've had a chance to view the memory so I know what to ask him."

"I'll let you know when we've had a chance. Was there something else, Albus?"

Dumbledore paused for a moment. Should he reveal this or let it go? Well, if he didn't, he risked it falling into unknown hands when he passed.

"I would like Harry to have my wand."

All three blinked in surprise. Harry was the first to recover, "Why sir? I have a very good wand that chose me. What do I need yours for?" asked Harry.

"After you visited Ollivander's, Garrick contacted me. He said he told you about the brother wand to yours; the one Voldemort has."

"Yes sir. But why does that matter?"

"You are aware that both wands contain a phoenix feather, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"The phoenix who gave those feathers is Fawkes. Those are the only two feathers he has ever willingly given, which is a requirement to be a wand core. Because the cores are from the same source, if those wands were to ever meet in battle, one would not be able to defeat the other. My wand, on the other hand, has a very long and storied past. It would be able to overcome any spell cast by Voldemort's wand."

Now they were all intrigued. Sirius asked, "What's so special about your wand, Albus? I thought a wand only focuses a wizard's power, not enhance it."

"Have you ever heard the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

Sirius and Amelia both laughed while Harry just looked at them in confusion.

"It's a children's tale, pup. Something you read when you are growing up."

"While it may seem quite juvenile to you, I believe I can convince you that there is an historical basis to it. You are familiar with wizarding genealogy are you not, Sirius?"

Sirius barked a laugh, "It was literally beaten into me by my parents."

"Where does the Potter line descend from?"

"It is suspected that it dates all the way back to Godric Gryffindor through the Peverell lineage."

"And how many brothers were there in the original Peverell line?"

"Three; Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus. The Potters are part of the Ignotus branch of the family."

"And you are aware of an artifact that has been passed down through the Potter lineage for years."

"Why would I," Sirius slapped his forehead in recognition, "the cloak."

Albus smiled, "Yes indeed. And the Gaunts are descended through Cadmus. If, as I suspect, the Peverells were the original three brothers, then the Gaunts are the last owner of the Resurrection Stone. That is the last item that I suspect Tom used to create a horcrux."

Sirius paled, "Then your wand …"

"My wand is the Elder Wand. I won it from Gellert Grindelwald when I defeated him. I'm sure Olivander would be happy to examine it and give you his professional opinion. I would request, however, that you keep this item quiet. Many people have died through the ages believing they could own a wand that would make them invincible. If you are able to render Voldemort mortal again, then you will need it to defeat him once and for all. Once you have, then I humbly request that the wand be destroyed. No single person should have that power or responsibility."

"But why me, sir?" asked Harry.

This was the part that Albus had hated to reveal, but to ensure Voldemort could be defeated, he must.

"Do you remember in your first year, you asked me why Voldemort wanted to kill you, Harry?"

"Yeah, and you told me I was too young to know," he scoffed.

"And I still believe that, however circumstances have changed and it is imperative you know. I had hoped to allow you time to be a child."

It was Harry's time to laugh, "Then you should have told it to me when you left me with the Dursleys. Does this have anything to do with the prophesy?"

"How do you know about that?"

"My dad left me a letter in the Potter vault. He didn't know what it said, only that it was about me. I haven't had time to go to the Department of Mysteries to hear it."

"The prophesy was told to me by Sybill Trelawney. Unfortunately, part of it was overheard and reported to Voldemort. That is why he came for you."

"So can you tell me what it says?"

"Yes. _The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. . . . born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies . . . and the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not . . . and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. . . . the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies . . ._ "

"What does that mean? The power he knows not? Am I suppose to be some superwizard or something?"

"No, I don't believe it means that, but that you have a power that Voldemort doesn't and that power is what will defeat him."

"But I'm just a kid. What can I have that he doesn't?"

"Do you remember when you faced him your first year?"

"It's a little hard to forget."

"You remember that Professor Quirrell was unable to touch you without being harmed?"

"Yeah."

"I believed then, as I do now, that the power you have is love."

Sirius barked a laugh, "Love? Are you insane Albus? How is that going to defeat a powerful wizard such as Voldemort? Does he just hug him to death?"

"Voldemort has never known love of any sort. His father left even before he was born. His mother died just after childbirth, leaving him to be raised in an orphanage. He was a loner in school, never making any close friends. To my knowledge, he never had any meaningful relationships in his life. All he understands are hate and power. Someone with as pure a heart who can love with abandon such as you, Harry, will be a formidable opponent for him. It is the ultimate battle of good versus evil."

Harry thought the man was off his rocker, "So what am I suppose to do until he returns?"

"The most important thing is for you to never lose your sense of forgiveness and ability to love. Many people who come from situations such as yours have ended up bitter and hateful. You have never succumbed to those emotions. The best way I can express this is for you to look at Fawkes. He has sensed your goodness and wishes to be a guiding force for you in your battle against evil. Trust his guidance. I did not and you see where it has gotten me. It is said that power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that only I had the power to defeat the evil that is Voldemort and that everyone else was my pawn to move as necessary for the greater good. Because of that, you and Sirius lost the years you could have spent in a loving household. You would have known your family and learned your heritage. I thought by putting you with your aunt you would learn humility. While I could say that aim was successful, the cost to you was more than you should have had to bear. For that I am extremely sorry."

The three of them sat there staring at the aged wizard, trying to collect the thoughts that were whirling through their heads.

Harry was the first to speak, "So, do you know who told the prophesy to Voldemort?"

"Yes, but would it make a difference now?"

"I'd like to know who to blame for losing my parents."

"Do not dwell on those things you cannot change, Harry. Suffice it to say the person regrets it to this very day and continues to blame themselves for the loss of your parents."

"Then why are you protecting them?"

"Because nothing is to be gained by harboring malice to them. They have repented of their sin."

"So what do you gain by telling me all this now?"

"Perhaps a clearer conscience. I know that I will not be there to guide you when you finally do meet Voldemort for hopefully the last time, so I must provide you with all of the information I can now."

"Then are you just giving up?"

"I am not giving up, Harry, just acknowledging the facts as they are. The charges you have made against me, and yes, I know they are from you and not something the Ministry discovered on their own, as well as those regarding my actions at Hogwarts are true. There is nothing to be gained by trying to fight them. I have lived a long life and am ready to meet whatever lies beyond. I am sure I will have many other opportunities to apologize in the afterlife to those who, like you, I have wronged. My fate is now in your hands."

They sat there stunned for a few moments before Dumbledore spoke again, "I am ready to return to my cell, Amelia, unless there is something else you wish to ask of me."

Sirius did have a question, "Albus, I have been led to believe that after James and Lily died, there was considerable correspondence regarding Harry. According to the goblins, Harry was named beneficiary of several estates. Other than the records the goblins have making those bequests, nothing else has been found."

"I presume this is what has prompted the charges of postal interference?"

"Yes, to some extent."

"You are correct. A substantial amount of letters and presents were sent to Harry immediately after their death. Rather than have the Dursleys bombarded by owls every hour of the day and night, I put an owl redirect on the house so they would not be bothered. There is a hidden room at Hogwarts where this mail has been stored. He still receives the occasional owl, especially on October 31 and July 31. If you will call for the head Hogwarts elf, Pappy, he will be able to take you to the storage room. Minerva should be able to remove the wards from the room to give you easier access. Everything has been checked for malicious intent. We _Incendio'd_ any of those."

"And his missing Gringotts statements?"

"Alas, those were also destroyed once I reviewed them."

Both Harry and Sirius shook their heads in disbelief. Amelia called for the jailer to come and return Dumbledore to his cell. Once he had left, Amelia asked, "Shall we adjourn to my office. I believe some tea is in order."

"Do you have anything stronger?" asked Sirius.

"I'm sure I can find something."

The trio left the holding cell area and returned to Amelia's office. She reached into a hidden cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Ogden's Finest as well as a bottle of butterbeer for Harry. Once they had had a moment to gather their thoughts, she spoke up, "Well, that was quite educational. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I don't think that was it."

"I think I was expecting him to tell Harry he didn't regret anything and he would do it again. Or rationalize everything."

They looked at Harry expectantly, "Well, at least I finally know why Voldemort keeps trying to kill me. Not that it makes me feel any better. I wonder why he wouldn't tell me who told Voldemort the prophesy. That's who deserves the blame."

"I think he wants you to focus on the future and not the past. He's right; there's nothing you can do to change what happened so put it behind you and look forward. It's something I will have to do as well. While getting Albus to admit his wrongs won't change anything, at least we will both have closure and can move on. Have you set a date for the trials yet, Amelia?"

"I am meeting with Tiberius on Monday. The Crouch trials should be relatively quick. The charge for Barty Senior of improperly imprisoning you now pales against helping his son to escape and keeping him under the Imperius Curse all these years. Barty Junior should get the Dementor's Kiss this time. Delores Umbridge's trial should also be fairly quick and simple. I knew the woman was mean and vindictive, but apparently she's quite insane. She's had some sort of girlish crush on Cornelius for years. He may be a bit more of a challenge. I'm not sure what he will claim as the reason he signed your incarceration decree but he can claim executive privilege for Hagrid, especially since we would not have been able to accommodate someone of his size in the Ministry holding cells. Still, he is required to report to the Wizengamot within three days when he has exercised that privilege and he did not."

"Well, I guess that's about the best I can hope for. I will abstain from any votes regarding my incarceration."

"That's quite noble of you, Sirius. Most in your position would take extreme pleasure in being able to turn the tables on those who would wish them harm."

"I am not my parents. I will be voting on Dumbledore's case as well as Barty Junior and Umbridge."

"Well, you've both had an eventful day and I believe someone has an early class tomorrow. Let me not hold you any longer. I will be in touch when I know more. Harry, I would like you to be present at the trial of Albus. As an aggrieved party, you have a say in the final sentence. I realize that is quite a bit of pressure on your young shoulders, but this is another time where your status as The Boy Who Lived must be played up. You also have a say in Madam Umbridge's sentence as well, since the Dementor was coming for you, however you may wish to have Sirius serve as your proxy."

"Thank you Madam Bones. I will probably do that."

"I am more than happy to be of service to you, Harry."

Amelia escorted them back to the Atrium and bid them good afternoon. They floo'd back to Potter Hall for the rest of the day. Dobby quickly brought a tea service and asked what time they wanted dinner.

"I thought you were moving to your family's house."

"I'm working on it. The house has been in disrepair ever since my dear departed mother died. The elf there is almost senile, but he seems to be doing better now that there's a new Lord of the House. Dobby has been a big help. I've been doing a bit of remodeling to make it more welcoming for us both. I'll let you know when I make the final move. I'm still going through things to see what needs to stay and what needs to be permanently destroyed. Now, don't you have some homework to finish for tomorrow?"

"Just some Ancient Runes left. Got Charms and DADA done and Hagrid hardly ever gives us anything except some reading. Did you find any basic runes books in the library?"

Sirius blushed, "I forgot to look. Why don't we go see then?"

The pair walked into the library and checked the index for basic ancient runes books and found three. Harry looked at them and said, "Great! None of these are in the Hogwarts library. Hermione will be jealous," he said with a smirk.

"I see I need to give you a lesson in sharing," grinned Sirius.

"No, I'll show them to her." Harry took the three books over to a table and began doing his homework. He had found he had a talent for runes and was fascinated by their usefulness. Sirius was sitting at the desk looking through some papers. It took Harry about an hour to complete his assignments. He didn't realize it had been that long as he was so absorbed in his work. He put his books back in his bag and had a few minutes to relax.

"Have you had any more problems with Snape?"

"No. I guess you could say we've come to an understanding. I behave myself and he leaves me alone. He actually let Hermione and me help with some of the potions he was making for the hospital wing. Oh! Madam Pomfrey wanted me to add some powdered plimpie egg shells to the nutrient potion so he showed us how to properly grind them so they would dissolve in the potion. If he does mess with me again, I'll just have Mum take care of him," he said with a grin.

"Spoken like the true son of a Marauder."

Dobby called them in for dinner. Harry was having no problems eating a full meal now, but he still made sure he tried to balance things out. Dobby knew his weakness was treacle tart, so he wasn't surprised when that showed up for pudding. It had been an interesting, but oddly satisfying, day.

They couldn't put off returning to Hogwarts any longer. When they walked into the Entrance Hall, it appeared the feast was still going strong. Sirius sent Harry up to the Gryffindor tower while he went to tell Minerva that Harry was back. Before he got to the doors to the Great Hall, Nearly Headless Nick passed by.

"Hello Nick."

"Lord Black! A pleasure to see you again. I fear you're a bit late for the feast."

"Yes, well, I planned it that way. Would you mind telling Remus Lupin I'm out here. I'd rather not interrupt the festivities."

"Certainly." The ghost then disappeared through the wall into the Great Hall. After a few minutes, Remus exited the Great Hall.

"Padfoot! Where's Harry? I take it all went well."

"About as well as it could. I sent Harry on up to the Tower. I need to check with the Ministry and find out what the status is of the house in Godric's Hollow. Apparently there is a stasis charm of some sort on it. They've turned it into some sort of memorial. Pretty disgusting, actually."

"And the meeting with Albus?"

"Very enlightening. It will take a while to fill you in on it. I need to talk with Minerva. Evidently Albus has left quite a few memories in his office relating to Tom Riddle and the horcruxes. I'd rather not say anything in the middle of the Entrance Hall. If you could have her let me know when she may have some time to discuss this with her. You should be there as well. As much as I hate to admit it, Snape might want to be there too. He knows more about Voldemort's activities than anyone else. However, I'd rather not have it in the Head's office. Too many portraits."

"Of course. I'll speak with her and let you know. It's been a bit hectic here as I'm sure you can well imagine. Hopefully things will be somewhat back to normal tomorrow."

"Don't count on it. Amelia's looking to have some of the trials this week."

"She's not wasting any time."

"I think she wants it all done with so everyone can determine what the new normal is going to be. She's not sure the charges against Fudge will stick, but she's still going to try."

"Well, it will still shake things up regardless."

"That it will. I should head back to Potter Hall. It's been a long day. Mirror call me when Minerva wants to meet, Moony."


	49. Changing Faces

49\. Changing Faces

Monday brought a lull in the excitement for almost everyone. The _Daily Prophet_ was still rehashing the events of Thursday, speculating about the history behind all of the charges. Apparently there were a few leaks because some of the stories had a shred of truth. Hermione poked Harry in the arm and thrust her copy of the paper in front of him. On the third page was a large advertisement from Gringotts.

AUCTION

1000 Square Feet Basilisk Skin (previously shed)

Sold in lots of 100 Square Feet

1400 Square Feet Basilisk Skin (recently harvested)

Sold in lots of 100 Square Feet

20 Linear Feet Basilisk Tongue

Sold in lots of 1 foot

4.2 Tons Basilisk Meat (recently harvested)

Sold in lots of 300 Pounds

52 Gallons Basilisk Venom (recently drained)

Sold in lots of 1 Cup

425 Basilisk Fangs of varying length (recently harvested)

Sold individually

Auction to be held at Gringotts London

December 4, 1993

All bidders must register no later than

November 27, 1993 to be eligible to bid

International portkeys available for 20 Galleons each (limit 5 people per portkey)

Registration in care of Griphook

All sales immediate and final

Harry gave a low whistle, "Wow, when you put it like that, that's a huge snake!"

Hermione had to agree, "I wish I'd gone down and seen it now. You said you took some parts for yourself, right?"

"Yeah. The Goblins put them in my vault for safe keeping. I gave Snape some of the venom. I thought he was going to cry for a minute," Harry said with a smirk.

Ron had finally come up for air from his breakfast and said, "I doubt he knows how to cry; only how to make everyone cry."

Harry had gone straight to his dormitory once he'd returned to the castle last night so he hadn't seen Hermione until now. Ron had come up and asked how he was doing, but otherwise hadn't said anything to him either.

"So how was your meeting with Professor Dumbledore, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Weird. He had several things to tell me but it's not something I can discuss here," Harry said, looking around the crowded Great Hall.

With breakfast over, the trio went to their double Charms class. With Dumbledore out of the castle, Harry no longer had to pretend to hide his newfound talents. Sirius had suggested Harry gradually work into it, but it was his decision. While the practical side of things was easier for Harry, he still had a bit of trouble with some of the theory. It was easier than it had been, but Harry was still learning how to learn again. The professors had been on edge Friday after all of the events of Thursday, but they seem to have resumed their normal demeanor, at least Professor Flitwick had.

Once DADA was over, Harry stayed back to talk to Remus.

"Did you talk to Sirius last night?"

"We had a brief discussion to let me know that he'd returned you to the castle. I'll be setting up a meeting with Minerva in the next few days to discuss what happened at the Ministry," Remus knew to be cautious around the portraits even with Dumbledore gone.

"Oh, OK. I didn't know if I was supposed to fill you in or not."

"No, Sirius will take care of that. Your job now is to be a student, Harry," smiled the kindly wizard.

From the students' standpoint, the week was relatively normal. With the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match on Saturday, the student body was looking forward to a good match without the drama the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match always carries with it. Harry was looking forward to decent weather so he could study both Seekers in order to develop strategies to use next term when Gryffindor played both teams.

From the staff's standpoint, things were just beginning. Their first order of business was a full staff meeting on Monday evening to determine who the new Deputy should be as well as other business that needed to be addressed. To ensure everyone was present, Professor McGonagall had tasked the Head Boy and Girl to ensure certain key positions were monitored while the staff was occupied. The Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater, was given supervision over the Hospital Wing. She had been working with Madam Pomfrey, learning what it would require to become a Healer, and was quite capable healing minor cuts and scrapes. If anything more serious came in, she would send an elf to Madam Pomfrey. Percy Weasley, the Head Boy, was given the responsibility over the Library. He would mainly need to keep order, but he was quite versed in necessary research skills. As for Filch, well, no detentions were being held tonight. The other prefects were responsible for monitoring the halls and common rooms. Anyone caught causing mischief or mayhem would suffer double the penalty they would normally serve. Minerva had announced that at dinner and every student present knew she meant every word of it.

Rather than squeeze everyone into the Staff Room, Minerva decided to use the Great Hall for the meeting. Once dinner was over and the staff assembled, she closed and locked the doors to the room. She then moved all of the tables and benches against the wall except the Hufflepuff table; that she transfigured into a large round table where everyone could see each other. She had the elves bring in tea services and biscuits and place them around the table. They were all automatic refilling so they would not need to call for an elf to interrupt the meeting.

Noticing everyone assembled she brought the meeting to order.

"Thank you for coming. I'm sure those of you scheduled to oversee student detentions tonight are quite put out that I've interrupted your fun," glancing at Severus, "however there are several important matters that we need to see to immediately. The first of these is to nominate a new Deputy Head. The Board of Governors has given me until Friday to do so. I should make you aware that the four Heads of Houses are exempt from this position. We were able to convince the Board that requiring a Head to also be the Deputy put too much strain on the individual and resulted in less than stellar performance of all their duties. I am the first to admit to that fact. With that being said, would anyone like to volunteer for the position?" She looked around the room, knowing that nobody was going to volunteer.

Filius took over the discussion, "While we were relatively certain no one would volunteer, the Heads of House, along with Minerva, held our own meeting and have our own recommendation. We analyzed each remaining teacher's abilities, schedule, and previous student house to determine this, including the fact that Septima was educated at Beauxbatons."

"Why should someone's Hogwarts House matter, Filius?" asked Bathsheba Babbling.

"Let's examine the recent headmasters/headmistresses. Minerva and Albus are Gryffindors. Armando Dippet was a Ravenclaw. Phineas Nigellus Black was a Slytherin. There has not been a Hufflepuff Head or Deputy since the founders." With that statement, all eyes fell on Charity Burbage.

"But… but… I'm sure there are others more qualified than I am. Aurora's been here much longer than I have!"

"Yes, but I was also a Slytherin, something I'm sure the Board would not welcome," said Aurora Sinistra.

Minerva entered the discussion, "Actually all four of you, Septima, Bathsheba, Aurora and Charity, are relatively equally qualified. I must say that Aurora was my first choice, however her class schedule is heavier than the others. Her classes are also taught at night. While that could help in some areas, it has its own hindrances. That leaves Septima, Bathsheba and Charity. Your classes are electives that don't begin until the students' third year. We have quite a number of students who continue both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy to the NEWT level. Rarely do students pursue Muggle Studies past OWL level, leaving you with more free time, Charity. Also, you have a better understanding of the needs of our Muggle-born and Muggle-raised students. I believe you will have quite a bit of input as we look to revamp our courses for the coming years."

It was hard to argue with that logic. With no further discussion, they took a vote and, naturally, Charity Burbage was selected as the new Deputy Headmistress, pending approval of the Board of Governors.

"The next item I would like to discuss is the need for a new Transfiguration professor. I have several individuals I am considering, but I welcome your input as well. Unfortunately, I think it may be quite difficult finding someone who can take over in the middle of a term. I am even willing to continue instructing the NEWT classes if we can find someone capable instructing the lower level courses. Those that I've considered so far are currently employed or are still earning their Mastery."

"I'm sure if you consulted with Miss Granger she would be happy to help you out," interjected Severus.

"Severus! This is not the time for your hostilities," retorted Minerva.

"Do you know of someone who was an exceptional student but may not have pursued a Mastery due to another career choice?" asked Septima.

"I have thought of one individual, but I'm not sure he is interested at the moment. He currently has his hands quite full with other responsibilities."

"Who might this be" asked Charity.

Steeling herself for the response she knew she was going to get from Severus, "Sirius Black."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will resign as Potions Master if that mutt is allowed on staff!" came the expected response.

"Severus, you can stop your blustering! You have to admit, he was the best Transfiguration student in your year, with deference to both you and Remus," she said, nodding to them both. "However, with things being as they are, I believe his best place right now is where he is, sitting on the Wizengamot and keeping us abreast of its activities. Therefore, I am requesting each of you provide me with a name of someone you think may be able to fill in for the term until I am able to locate someone who is properly qualified. Now, the next staff position I'd like to examine is that of History of Magic. I'm sorry, Cuthbert, but we need someone with more current knowledge of wizarding history. The fact that we teach nothing about the war with Grindelwald or the Voldemort war is practically criminal. How can our students be expected to prevent future wars if we don't teach them about previous ones, especially recent events?"

"Your point is well-taken, Headmistress McGonagall. I find the more recent students virtually appalling in every respect."

"Of course we would be happy to keep you on in an Emeritus position if you so choose, giving guest lectures as the need may arise."

"I will give your request consideration then," bowed the ghost.

"The final item I wish to address is the curriculum in general. As I just mentioned with Charity, I see a need to open our curriculum more fully to those who are muggleborn as well as any who might be muggle raised or even half-blood who are not familiar with our world when they begin Hogwarts. Additionally, I see a need to educate our pureblood students about the Muggle world as a whole. While many will balk at this move, I think we need to understand that we do not live in a vacuum. Events in the Muggle world affects ours as well as ours affecting theirs. Charity, I would like you to Chair a committee to begin looking into course changes in all areas. Aurora, I'd like you, Filius, Septima and Remus to be members. I'd like a first draft of curriculum changes by the end of Fall term."

She looked around and did not notice any grimacing or eye rolls indicating her staff wasn't happy with this latest development.

"Irma, have you had any success in finding a way to preserve our discovery in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I have discussed this with several archivists I know, but without being able to explain in detail what we are preserving, I'm not meeting with a lot of success."

Bathsheba asked, "What discovery?"

Minerva realized she had not shared this find with all of the staff, "I apologize, Bathsheba. While the goblins were removing the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets, we discovered a large library hidden within with books of the Founders in it. We showed it to the Board of Governors last week and they authorized us to proceed with preserving it."

"Why can't we just leave it where it is?"

Irma responded, "That would be the ideal option, however its location has very limited access. Only Harry Potter can let anyone in."

"And why is that?"

Minerva replied, "It requires a Parseltongue to enter."

"Would it be possible to leave the entrance open at all times?" asked Bathsheba?

"It wouldn't be wise for many reasons. The first is that its entrance is in the second floor girl's bathroom. You then have to descend a very long staircase to get to the next entrance resulting in a safety issue. Finally, you wouldn't want to leave the library open to just anyone who would have the curiosity to wander by."

"That would be a problem. I can just imagine the Weasley twins running rampant through there," said Aurora.

"I believe that is all I have for now. Does anyone else have anything to discuss?"

Filch popped up, "Do we get to bring back some real punishment for these miscreants?"

"No, Argus, we are not. In fact, we will be addressing the whole issue of discipline at a later time. We have quite enough on our plates for now. Are there any problems with the castle herself that we need to look into immediately?"

Seeing that their business was concluded, the staff dispersed to their respective areas. Minerva put the Great Hall to rights before retiring to her quarters.

While the staff was having their meeting, there was a curious assemblage of third year students in the library, representing all four houses. From Gryffindor were Harry Potter and Hermione Granger; from Hufflepuff were Susan Bones, Hanna Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchly and Ernie MacMillan; from Ravenclaw were Padma Patil, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein; finally, from Slytherin were Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini. Hermione looked around the table before standing up to begin the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming. I think we are all interested in what we are learning in Ancient Runes. A few of us discussed forming a study group for the class which is, I hope, why you're all here. Harry and I talked about possibly assigning each of us one of the runes we'll be studying between now and the holidays so we can all learn a bit more about it other than what is in the text."

Blaise asked, " How will that help us?"

"Well, how much time are you able to spend researching all of them?"

He sighed ruefully, "Not enough."

"Exactly. So if each of us takes one of them, we can devote more time, then share what we find with each other. This way we can still learn what we need as well as getting a more in-depth study of each of them. Sort of like doing a term paper."

"What's a term paper?" asked Padma.

"Muggles do them as an in-depth study of a particular topic. Then they usually present them to their classmates so they can also learn more about their topic. It helps you learn more about a topic you're more interested in."

"That actually makes some sense," said Anthony.

As Hermione began to explain her plan, Fawkes settled gently on Harry's shoulder.

 _This is a good thing you are doing, hatchling._

"What?" thought Harry back at the firebird.

 _Getting all four houses together for one goal._

"Well, we really just want to learn more about the class and seeing what it can do to help us."

 _It is enough for now._

Naturally, Fawkes' arrival brought a crowd of people as well as Percy Weasley.

"Alright everyone, back to your …" Percy stopped short when he saw what the fuss was about.

"Forgive me, wise phoenix, for interrupting you," he said with a bow.

 _This one has been taking lessons from Albus._

Harry was trying very hard not to burst out laughing; and Hermione had figured out Fawkes had said something amusing to him.

After the students in the library had a chance to view the ancient bird, Percy dismissed them back to their work areas. Fawkes was giving amusing commentary to Harry throughout. Apparently he tolerated the students' interest in himself, however he had no use for those who would pretend affinity with Harry just to get closer to "The Boy Who Lived with a Phoenix". The group of students continued their meeting, finally dividing up the previously mentioned runes among themselves. Once that had been accomplished, they agreed to meet again at the same time the next week then departed their own separate ways.

Tuesday brought the announcement that the first of the trials would be held on Friday. These would be for Bartemius Crouch, Junior and Senior, and Dolores Umbridge. Trials for Cornelius Fudge and Albus Dumbledore would be held following the November Wizengamot meeting scheduled for November 25th. Acting Minister Bones had released the full set of charges for the first three people to be tried. The discovery of the existence of Barty Crouch, Junior. had turned public sentiment against Senior. People were already calling for the Dementor's Kiss for Junior and many were also recommending it for Senior. As for Dolores Umbridge, she had more than a few enemies quite happy to see her in her current position. Apparently she had been blackmailing more than a few wizards and even a few witches. The private files on each had been found when the Aurors had searched her flat after her arrest. This had resulted in several more charges added to her case.

Sirius had been making visits to various Houses trying to get the pulse of those with the most influence; well, with the exception of Malfoy and his lot. Without exception, everyone had inquired as to the charges against Albus Dumbledore regarding Harry. He repeatedly refused to discuss them, knowing that Harry already felt awkward with what had already been published about himself. However, the charges regarding Hogwarts he did elaborate. Initially, people had been reluctant to believe what he'd told them about the basilisk until the advertisement by the goblins regarding the sale of the parts. When that part of the charges had been supported, many more people seemed quite ready to listen to what he had to say.

Black Hall was fast becoming a center of activity. When Sirius wasn't out visiting, he was being visited. Kreacher had once again become an integral part of the Black Family and he was quite enjoying himself. While on his best behavior when company called, still, in private, he was quite biting in his comments about the current Lord Black. Even Sirius had begun to laugh at the elf. Dobby was proving useful carrying messages around whenever his owl, Ahwendela, was making other deliveries. Sirius communicated with Harry and Remus mainly by mirror now and used Remus to pass messages to Minerva when necessary.

Thursday found him at the Ministry and the offices of the Wizarding Examination Authority. Madam Marchbanks had requested a meeting with him. Sirius had assumed it was regarding the trials on Friday but was quite unprepared for what the witch actually wanted.

"Lord Black, thank you for coming."

"Of course, Madam Marchbanks," he bowed over her hand.

"Please, it's Griselda. I suspect we'll be seeing more than a bit of each other in the coming days."

"Then you must call me Sirius. Lord Black reminds me too much of my grandfather."

"Yes, Arcturus was a crotchety old man. At least he came to his senses before he passed on. Walburga had been quite proud to announce your expulsion from the Black Family."

"I'm sure she was."

"I'm sure you are wondering why I asked to see you."

"I am curious. With the upcoming trials I have been making a bit of a circuit lately."

"You'll be happy to know this has nothing to do with them; rotten business they are."

Sirius' curiosity was piqued now, "No?"

"No. I wanted to discuss more about what has been going on and is going on at Hogwarts. Evidently your godson has given you quite a bit of information. As you are aware, Lucius Malfoy had been on the Board of Governors until that nasty bit of work at the end of the last term. Knowing his dislike of Dumbledore, I am quite surprised we never heard anything about all that has transpired seeing as his son is a classmate of Harry."

Sirius didn't even bother to hide the scoff he had at the mention of Lucius, "If it wasn't in his best interests, then I'm not surprised you didn't hear anything about it."

"Exactly. Far too long has the Board of Governors been a rubber stamp for whatever Albus Dumbledore wanted. It is time we take back our school and return it to its rightful place in our society. OWL and NEWT scores have declined considerably over the past several years. We hardly have anyone taking the Potions NEWT anymore. Dumbledore has allowed his Potions Master to dictate the requirements for the class rather than the Board dictating what he must be prepared to teach. Not every NEWT student plans a career as a Potions Master, however, as you know so well, there are many other fields that require the Potions NEWT. The History of Magic scores are atrocious. Well, I could go on for days on this alone. Let me get to the point. We have a vacancy on the Hogwarts Board of Governors and we would like to offer it to you. It is a unanimous recommendation from all of the Board members."

Sirius was quite shocked at that offer. He hadn't been sure exactly what she would have wanted with him, but this definitely hadn't crossed his mind.

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure. Have you ever known me to be flippant about anything Sirius Black? I remember giving you your Transfiguration NEWT. Now if you'd have just shown your animagus form, you would have received a "With Distinction" score. Of course, if you require time to consider my offer…"

"Thank you Griselda. I am quite flattered by your offer. Ever since Harry told me about his first two years at Hogwarts, I've been quite concerned about the education he has been receiving. Minerva and I have already discussed some changes to the curriculum as a result of my conversations with Harry that I expect to be of great help, but may meet with some resistance by the Board. If you believe I could be helpful in the effort to move Hogwarts forward, then I gladly accept your offer."

"Good. That's settled. Minerva owled me her choice for Deputy. It appears she wishes to nominate Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor. I admit I have little information about her other than her OWL and NEWT scores, which were more than acceptable. As you seem to have intimate knowledge of what is going on at Hogwarts, I wondered if you could give me your thoughts on her choice."

"As you are aware, Remus Lupin is currently the DADA professor. He was also one of my best friends at Hogwarts as well as best friends with the Potters. He and I communicate virtually daily. He gave me a bit of background on Professor Burbage. She's well-liked by her peers and her students appear to respect her. She's also a Hufflepuff, which there hasn't been a Hufflepuff Headmaster or Headmistress since the Founders. Her workload is probably the lightest of any of the professors. If you want someone in that position who can devote considerable time to righting whatever wrongs there may be at Hogwarts, I think she would be an excellent choice. Her experiences as a half-blood witch would come in quite handy as roughly two thirds of the student body are either half-blood or muggleborn. Gone are the days we can depend on the purebloods of our society to fill the halls of Hogwarts. Perhaps we could use a bit of fresh air as well."

"Well put. Those are most of the points Minerva made in her recommendation, but you put it a bit more in perspective. I have already sent her conditional approval pending an interview with the Board at our next meeting. Unless you are aware of a pressing need, I was planning to postpone our next meeting until after the trials are over."

"I am unaware of anything that pressing at the moment, however, if Remus or Minerva make me aware of something, I will be sure to let you know."

"Thank you, Sirius. I'm sure you are more than a bit busy right now. I will see you tomorrow then?"

"Of course. Thank you for your confidence in me," he said, again bowing before taking his leave.


	50. The Longest Day, Part I

**A/N: For you writers out there, I can't stress how important it is to have a separate back-up! My laptop bit the dust over the weekend. I will have access to the hard drive in a couple of days, but I'd been backing up to a flash drive. With my habit of writing several chapters ahead and the backup, I've only lost about two pages of writing and it's a scene that is very easy to redo. BACKUP!**

50\. The Longest Day, Part I

Friday dawned cold and rainy in downtown London. The floos at the Ministry were working overtime as people came to watch the spectacle of the trials. Not since the Death Eater trials after the last war had the magical population had so much excitement. While the three trials going on today were drawing a crowd, the two at the end of the month would be even more spectacular. While quite a few people had come to watch the trials, some had actually come to watch the Wizengamot work without their two long-time leaders.

Tiberius Ogden brought the assembly to order, then turned the proceedings over to Acting Minister Bones. She went through the protocol that would be used for the day's events. The first trial would be that of Dolores Umbridge with Amelia serving as prosecutor. After reading the full amended list of charges (five counts of blackmail had been added), Umbridge was given the three drops of Veritaserum and questioning began.

"Dolores Umbridge, state your current position."

"I am the Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic."

"Did you request Dementor services from Azkaban on September first?"

"I did."

"Please tell the members why you did this."

"That horrid Potter boy was making Cornelius look like a fool. If he'd just turned Sirius Black in once he'd found him, we'd have given him the Kiss and no one would be the wiser."

"What instructions had you given the Dementor?"

"To stop the Hogwarts Express after it was north of Carlisle. I had provided it with a sample of Potter's magical signature. It was to find the brat and ensure he could never cause problems again."

"How did you obtain the sample of his magical signature?"

"When he was in Cornelius' office the day they found Pettigrew, I was able to perform the charm and place it in the appropriate container."

"Did you mean for the Dementor to Kiss the boy?"

"Yes, if it was necessary."

A gasp went through the room. Kissing the Boy Who Lived was not something they could comprehend. He was a national hero, for Merlin's sake!

"And what was the purpose of the three blood quills found in your office?"

"I had asked Cornelius to post me to Hogwarts. I would show those miscreants proper discipline as well as show Albus Dumbledore for the fool he is."

"Where did you obtain the blood quills?"

"Lucius Malfoy offered them to me when I discussed with him how to unseat Dumbledore from Hogwarts for good."

If a gasp had gone through the crowd previously, mayhem was now the order of the day. Lucius Malfoy was seated only a few seats away from the Minister's seat.

Madam Bones banged her gavel and spoke, "Aurors, detain Lucius Malfoy immediately."

Lucius was a proud man and would not stoop to grovel in front of such a large group. He rose regally from his seat and descended to the floor of the courtroom. When an Auror made to take hold of his arm, he quickly brought it back saying, "Unhand me this instant! I will not be dragged off like some common thief." He was quickly ushered into the holding cells of the Ministry. Once Lucius was secured, Robards took a team of six Aurors to Malfoy Manor to secure it until further directions were received regarding its search.

The rest of the questioning centered around the five individuals she'd been blackmailing. Each were in various positions in the Ministry and were there as a result of her recommendation. The highest ranking individual was Ludo Bagman. She knew about his gambling debts and had threatened to expose him. The others were minor functionaries.

Finally, with the questioning over and no other witnesses, they administered the antidote. Amelia rested the Ministry's case.

"As Harry Potter was the target of the Dementor attack, he has the right to face his attacker. Mr. Potter has asked Lord Black to serve as his proxy in this matter. Lord Black, do you have any comments you wish to make on Mr. Potter's behalf?"

Sirius rose, "Thank you Minister Bones. I believe we are all shocked by what we have learned today. While I can understand Madam Umbridge's ire against me, I fail to understand it against my godson, Harry Potter. Every witch and wizard in this room as well as in all of Great Britain owe him a debt they can never repay. As his guardian and designated representative, I request that, given her admission of guilt, she be afforded the same sentence that she attempted to enact on my godson."

Around the room, heads were nodding and there were quiet whispers. Madam Bones banged her gavel and placed the court in recess while the Wizengamot considered their verdict. Once the room was cleared, the debate was short. The court was quickly reconvened and the verdict and sentence read.

"Dolores Jane Umbridge, this court finds you guilty of all charges against you. We sentence you to the Dementor's Kiss. Additionally, we order repayment of all monies extorted from your victims. All remaining gold and property are to be transferred to Harry James Potter in restitution for your crime against him. If sufficient funds are no longer available, your assets will be divided in half with one half being divided among your victims and the other half to Harry James Potter. This sentence is to be carried out immediately."

As was at her initial arrest, she was carried out under a silencing spell and an immobilization spell. The next trial would be that of Bartemius Crouch, Junior. Amelia relinquished the floor to Rufus as the prisoner was brought in.

"My Master will make you pay for this! He will return and crush you all!"

"Auror Shacklebolt, please place a silencing spell on the prisoner until the charges have been read and the Veritaserum has been administered," requested Amelia. Once that was done, she nodded again to Rufus to begin. He read the charge against Junior for escape. Again they administered the Veritaserum and questioned him just as they had in the holding cell. This was one of the quickest trials in a long time with an almost predictable result. He, too, was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. This time they would have the correct person in the grave marked Bartemius Crouch, Junior.

Barty Senior was a defeated man. He walked slowly into the courtroom with his head bowed. The shame of having a Death Eater son had cost him the Minister's job after Millicent Bagnold retired; now it was causing him to lose his freedom. The questioning under Veritaserum concerning his actions with his son mirrored the latter's testimony, without the Death Eater drivel. It was the questioning about his involvement in the incarceration of Sirius Black that drew the most interest.

"Did you sign the order to send Sirius Black to Azkaban?"

"Yes."

"Tell us the circumstances surrounding it."

"Cornelius Fudge and a squad of Aurors brought Black in. He kept repeating 'I killed them' over and over. Just as we were about to place him in a cell and question him under Veritaserum, Albus Dumbledore walked in. He confirmed the death of the Potters and that the house had been under the Fidelius Charm. The Aurors also confirmed the death of Peter Pettigrew and a dozen Muggles by Black. Dumbledore stated that, in this circumstance, the Ministry holding cells may not be sufficient to hold him and recommended we send him straight to Azkaban. We signed the order right there."

"Why did Cornelius Fudge sign the order?"

"We needed an additional Ministry official at the Junior Minister level or above to sign the order when it's not the result of a court sentence. Fudge was there so we had him do it."

"As the Director of the DMLE, did you ever follow up to see if a trial was given?"

"No. Dumbledore said he'd handle it. I was too caught up in rounding up the remaining Death Eaters to care. The man was in Azkaban where he belonged."

"I have no further questions."

Amelia had the Aurors administer the antidote. Surprisingly enough, Crouch then asked for permission to address the court. Having spoken to him previously, she granted his request.

"My Lord Black, members of the magical community, I have failed in my responsibilities to you. I was placed in a position of highest trust as the Director of Magical Law Enforcement and I failed to perform those duties to the highest standard. It was my responsibility to ensure every person placed in Azkaban were there appropriately. I allowed myself to be swayed by the promise of higher office. I had numerous occasions over the years to right the injustice and failed. I do not request leniency as I do not believe I deserve it."

Sirius was also given the opportunity to make a statement as the aggrieved party but declined to do so.

For the last time that day, the courtroom was cleared. Again it took very little time to come to a verdict and sentence. Since Amelia was prosecuting, Tiberius Ogden announced the verdict.

"Bartemius Crouch, Senior, we find you guilty of all charges and sentence you to life imprisonment in Azkaban. We also order that all worldly possessions be forfeited with half going to Sirius Black in reparation for his false imprisonment and the remainder to the Ministry."

The portkeys between the Ministry and Azkaban were numerous. The Wizengamot had ordered three independent witnesses to the Kissing of both Umbridge and Crouch. One witness would be an Auror, one a representative of the Department of Mysteries and another would be a Ministry Department Head or better. Each Kissing must be witnessed by separate groups necessitating four additional people going to Azkaban in addition to the squad of Aurors escorting the prisoners. While cumbersome, it ensured each sentence was properly executed.

Sirius was stopped outside the courtroom by Rita Skeeter asking for a statement on the day's proceedings. He declined her request stating that he believed justice had been served in all three cases. While privately feeling some of the weight off of his shoulders, it wouldn't be fully off until Dumbledore's trial was over.

As soon as the trials were over, Sirius floo'd back to Black Hall. He took out his mirror and called Remus. He hoped his friend was eating in his office and not the Great Hall, but it couldn't be helped. After a ten minute wait, Remus' face showed up in his mirror.

"Padfoot? What's wrong? Was there a problem at the trials?"

"In a manner of speaking. While it doesn't concern us directly, you might want to pass along a message to Minerva and Snape."

"Severus?"

"Yes. Apparently the person who gave that Umbridge woman the blood quills was Lucius Malfoy. He's now in a holding cell at the Ministry. I'm sure the Aurors are already at Malfoy Manor beginning their search. It also means that Narcissa isn't able to get word to Draco about his father's arrest. While I have no love for any of the Malfoy's, one's son should not find out about their father being imprisoned from the Daily Prophet. Plus, I want you to let Harry know that he is not, under any circumstances, to torment the younger Malfoy about his new situation. I know kids are cruel and, if it were me, I'd be bullying him mercilessly, but Harry is made of better stuff. As the Heir of an Ancient and Most Noble House, and soon to be a second whenever I manage to get Gerald to draw me up another will, he needs to portray a more dignified demeanor. I'd also like you to gather the Weasleys and Hermione, too, and explain to them that Malfoy is off-limits."

"Of course. I have Harry in my afternoon class. I'll talk to them immediately afterwards. I'll have to round up the rest of the Weasleys though. Can you tell me more about the results of the trials quickly so I can also give Minerva that information?"

"Apparently both Harry and I are even richer," Sirius said, then went into a quick overview of the trials. He'd call back later that evening with more details. He then floo-called Gerald Howe's office for an immediate appointment. Gerald was currently out of the office, but would be back within the hour, so Sirius could come over then.

Remus went back into the Great Hall and spoke to Minerva first. Once he told her what it was about, she motioned for Severus to join her in the chamber off to the side of the Great Hall. Remus then filled them both in on the information Sirius had told him.

Severus was the first to speak, "Well, I'm not all that surprised. I knew Malfoy Manor was home to all sorts of illegal items, but not exactly what they were."

"Well, if the diary from last year is any example, then there will be much more once they are able to determine where the caches are held," said Severus.

"I'll be speaking with Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys after class this afternoon and informing them of this as well," said Remus.

"Whatever for, wolf? So they can gloat over Mr. Malfoy's circumstances?"

"No, exactly the opposite. Sirius gave very explicit orders that Draco is to be left alone. The misfortunes of one of their classmates is nothing to lord over them. Harry is well aware of how that feels. I will ensure they are all properly behaved. Detentions will be the least of their worries."

"Oh?"

"I'm sure Molly would be happy to send any number of howlers to any of her wayward children. If need be, Sirius will be happy to come here and reinforce his message. I'm sure Harry would be disappointed in losing his broom privileges for the rest of the term. Hermione is above this, so I'm not as concerned about her."

So the wolf has some teeth, thought the Potions Master, "I'll pull Mr. Malfoy off to the side and let him know of the situation. Thank you, Lupin." It galled him to actually thank any of the Marauders, but he had to hand it to them for their sensitivity in this matter.

After the DADA class was over, Remus kept the three behind as he had said he would. He then asked Ron to gather up his brothers and bring them back.

"Is something wrong with Mum? Dad?" he asked.

"No, nothing of the sort. A few things happened during the trials today so Sirius has asked me to explain them to you along with his instructions." Ron ran off to Gryffindor Tower to find his three brothers and his sister. With Ron out of the room, Harry felt better about inquiring further, "You sure it's nothing bad?"

"No, Harry, but it's one of those things that is best explained rather than leaving it to the rumor mill. While they were waiting, both Harry's and Remus' mirrors vibrated indicating a call from Sirius.

"Hi guys. I wasn't sure I'd be available now, so that's why I made sure Remus had the information. Let's just say it's been another busy day." While they were waiting for the Weasleys to join them, Sirius thought about his afternoon. He'd gone over to Gerald's office as soon as he could to pass along the news of his additional wealth as well as Harry's. He knew in the case of Crouch there was a house to be disposed of. He also visited with Griphook and Silvergrip to make them aware of the information. With that taken care of, he went back to Black Hall to, hopefully, get in on the discussion Remus was about to have. Finally all of the Weasleys were assembled.

"Sorry to drag you all here on a Friday afternoon, but there were some things that came out at today's trials that I need to let you know about," he then gave them a more in-depth explanation than he'd given Remus earlier. When Sirius got to the point about Lucius being arrested, Ron said, "Wicked!"

"Ron, that's exactly the attitude I'm trying to stop before it gets out of hand. As you were there, you know that I put a stop to Draco's harassment of you so I'm doing the same for him."

Ron didn't know when to stop sometimes, "But why should we? He never stopped with me or Harry."

"I am aware of that, but this is where you show you have more class than him. He's probably going to expect you to say something, so don't. I'm quite serious about this. I'm not above telling your mother, Ron, if I hear you did. I'm sure you'd like another howler from her this year."

Ron blushed to the tips of his ears, "Er, no."

"Good. Now, are there any other questions?" Everyone shook their heads, "Well, have a good weekend. I still need to talk to Remus and Harry though." Ron and Hermione made to stay but Harry told them to go on up to the Tower.

"Now, I only told part of the sentences for Umbridge and Crouch, Sr. Since you were the intended victim of the Dementor attack, Harry, she owes you reparations."

"Repar what?"

"She has to make amends in some substantial way. As she has no heirs, that means you automatically get some. The five individuals she was blackmailing will also get a portion. I've spoken with Griphook so he can monitor the situation and work with the other goblin managers as needed. I don't know what it will entail either. It may just be some additional gold."

"I don't want anything from her!"

"I understand. I really don't want anything of Crouch's but I'm splitting his estate with the Ministry."

"Can I give it to someone who needs it? Maybe increase the Muggleborn student trust fund?"

"That is certainly an option. I was planning on donating mine as well but just haven't decided where it needs to go. One thing I'm thinking about, Moony, is a fund to supply Wolfsbane to whomever needs it."

Remus was taken aback, "That is certainly thoughtful, although I'm not sure how many will take you up on the offer. With the current laws, most werewolves I know keep their condition hidden."

"I plan to alter those laws once things settle down. Without Umbridge around to force them through, I don't think there's much support for them. You are doing the community more good than you know right now."

Remus nodded his head in thanks, "Whatever way I can help, please let me know."

"If either of you come up with something else you'd like to see supported, let me know. So, what are you doing this weekend?" and the conversation turned to more mundane topics.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

As soon as the trials were over, Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour went directly to the holding cell area of the Ministry. Amelia told one of the Aurors standing nearby, "Please summon Lord Cornfoot immediately."

The head jailer replied, "We've already done so Minister. Lord Malfoy was quite insistent we did."

"Good. As soon as he arrives, we'll question him under Veritaserum. It will help to know where to look for whatever else is there. I assume a squad of Aurors has already departed for Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes, Minister. Robards took a squad of six with him to secure the Manor."

"Rufus, how many Aurors do you think you'll need to properly search Malfoy Manor?"

"Well, it depends on what we're looking for, but I would probably double the current number. We may also want to have them work in pairs. If we do, then we may want an additional squad."

"What about Unspeakables?"

"Yes, probably a couple of them as well. While they have quite talented curse breakers, we may want to contract with Gringotts for assistance as well."

"We'll hold off on that until we know what we are up against. I'm not like Cornelius; I know the goblins are quite well versed in these things. It may help when we ask to search their vault. Will someone summon Croaker. Probably best if he's here at the beginning. He'll know who best to have there."

While everyone hurried around contacting people, Amelia used the time to take a minute to catch her breath. Jailer Bailey offered her a seat in the conference room and summoned tea for her.

"Thank you. You might want to go ahead and get more cups. I'm sure Rufus could use some as well."

Rufus took the opportunity to walk in at that moment, "Minister, I've sent Shacklebolt to call in all of the off-duty Aurors. Might as well have all hands on board. I bet Mad-Eye Moody would give his other eye to get a look into Malfoy Manor."

"You may want to call him in too. That eye of his can see things we can't."

Rufus went to do just that. He didn't exactly like the retired Auror, but the man had his uses. Blind searches were one of them. Finally, after another half hour, everyone was assembled. They had enlarged one of the interrogation rooms to hold the number of people who were going to be attending. Lord Cornfoot had arrived and was speaking with his client. Shacklebolt had returned from summoning in the other Aurors and had a fresh vial of Veritaserum with the seal still intact. The final assembly consisted of Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour, Auror Shacklebolt, and Unspeakable Croaker. They had Malfoy and Lord Cornfoot brought in.

"Amelia, here to watch my downfall?" drawled, Lucius.

"Not necessarily. I want to ensure everything done while I am Acting Minister is done within the law. Let's not kid around with each other. You're an important member of the wizarding community. Any impropriety on the Ministry's part would be met with much furor. We will conduct this interrogation according to Ministry policy. I'm certain you are quite familiar with most all Ministry policies."

"Of course."

"Rufus Scrimgeour will be conducting the interrogation. The remainder of us will try to avoid interrupting. Auror Shacklebolt will administer the Veritaserum as well as monitor the Dictaquill recording this session. We also have a representative from the Unspeakables," she said, nodding to Croaker.

"My, my. You even managed to drag old Saul from the bowels of the Ministry. That is quite an achievement."

The friendly banter stopped immediately when Scrimgeour instructed Shacklebolt to administer the Veritaserum. After waiting the required minute, the questioning began.

"State your name."

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Your residence?"

"Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire."

"Did you provide Dolores Umbridge with blood quills?"

"Yes."

"Did she give you a reason she needed them?"

"No. Just that she saw a need in the future where they would come in quite useful."

"Do you have any more in your possession?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Four."

"Where are these located?"

"There is a room hidden beneath the drawing room floor."

"Are there any other dark artifacts hidden there?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"I do not have an inventory."

"Are any dark artifacts located elsewhere?"

"Yes."

"And this would be where?"

"My vault in Gringotts."

"How do you access the room beneath the drawing room floor?"

"It is keyed to my wards. I am the only one who can access it."

"What would happen to someone who tried?"

"They would meet a very ugly and painful death."

Well, now that was going to be a problem, thought Amelia. Croaker leaned over and whispered to her, "We may need to get the goblins to break the wards if you don't want to allow Malfoy back there." Amelia nodded to him. She had another thought and whispered it into Rufus' ear.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

There were several gasps around the room even though they knew Malfoy had escaped prosecution previously by pleading he had been under the _Imperius_ curse.

"Yes."

"Have you always been a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Were you ever under the _Imperius_ curse?"

"No."

Amelia did break in this time, "Last year, did you place a cursed diary in Ginny Weasley's books?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do that?"

"The Weasleys are the worst sort of blood traitor. They deserved to be humiliated. Poor excuses for wizards all of them."

"Did you know what the diary did?"

"No. My Lord had left it with me for safekeeping in case something happened to him. All I knew was it was one of the darkest of artifacts."

"Do you know if Voldemort gave anyone else any similar items?"

"Yes. Bellatrix Lestrange was given a cup at the same time. We were both asked to safeguard them."

"Do you know where she stored hers?"

"She placed hers in her Gringotts vault."

She definitely needed to get with the goblins now. Perhaps a meeting with Ragnok would help smooth things over. She nodded back to Rufus to continue.

"Does your wife or son know about any of these artifacts?"

"They know they exist, but not what they are."

He looked around the room as if asking them if they had any further questions. When no one else did, he instructed Shacklebolt to administer the antidote.

When Amelia finally made it back to her office, she first got a quick bite to eat. No need to make herself sick so early in her tenure. While she was doing that, she had her assistant ask Dirk Cresswell to come see her. She also needed to contact Sirius Black. Apparently another of Voldemort's horcruxes might be in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

At Malfoy Manor, Narcissa Malfoy was trying to hide the panic she was feeling. Seven Aurors had appeared on her doorstep telling her that Lucius had been arrested for possession and transfer of dark objects. While she was under no illusion that her husband possessed such items, he had also been quite adamant not to tell her the extent. The less she knew, the less she could be found culpable for any results. Auror Robards had been more than polite. He had told her they were just an advance squad to secure the premises until they had further direction from Director Scrimgeour. She recognized the lone witch with them as her estranged niece. They had allowed her to carry on with her day as long as one of them was with her at all times. There were two more trials before the Director would be free to provide them guidance regarding their search.

Narcissa had several items of correspondence she had been working on before she was interrupted. She went back to the library to her desk to continue it. She had been writing a letter to Draco at the time, but now felt she should hold that until she knew more about what was happening. Draco would be devastated when he heard. Hopefully she would be able to reach him before it became fully public and he read it in the Daily Prophet. She would need to get to Severus as soon as she could. The Aurors had stationed themselves at each entrance to the Manor, including the elf entrance in the cellar. She would just have to bide her time.

Just as she was finishing her lunch, the remainder of the Auror contingent, led by Rufus Scrimgeour and Mad-Eye Moody arrived.

"Madam Malfoy, I assume Auror Robards informed you of what was going on."

"Just that Lucius had been arrested for the possession and transfer of a dark artifact. He provided me no information as to how my husband is doing or if he has received access to his solicitor."

"Lord Cornfoot was summoned immediately upon taking Lord Malfoy into custody and has been with him throughout the questioning."

"Thank you. Now, let's dispense with the pleasantries and get this over with. What exactly are you looking for?"

"The items he was arrested for were three blood quills that he had given to Dolores Umbridge. However, he has given us information concerning the existence of quite a few others. He said they were located in a hidden chamber underneath the drawing room. He also indicated that it was protected by lethal wards. I would ask that you confine yourself to the library until we are able to ascertain the nature of these wards and are able to gain access without putting anyone else in further danger. Auror Trainee Tonks will stay with you."

"I don't need a guard!"

"I understand, however, this is standard procedure. My Aurors will be conducting a room to room search. If you are aware of any contraband located anywhere other than the room underneath the drawing room floor, I suggest you tell us now so that you are not included in the current charges."

"I am unaware of any other objects in my house."

Auror Trainee Tonks, if you would escort Madam Malfoy to the library, we will begin our work."

The team in the drawing room consisted of Rufus and Mad-Eye, two curse breakers from the Department of Mysteries and Saul Croaker. The first thing they did was move all of the furniture off to the sides and then rolled up the rug, leaving just the bare wooden floor. By looking at it, you couldn't see any imperfections in the way the floor was laid out. That was where Mad-Eye came in quite handy. The retired Auror took a long look at the floor before pointing to an area. He took his wand and attempted to levitate the false floor off of the entrance first. When that failed, he had to think of something different.

"Well, I could hope it would be that easy. Can't have curses on that with everyone walking on top of it. I'm sure even the elves have to get in here to clean every so often."

"Can you make out the outline then?" asked Rufus.

"Just barely. My guess is there's a recessed access point somewhere. Looks like it was put in long before Abraxas was born." He studied the fit of the boards before he finally saw a small imperfection. He stumped over to it and found a slim metal piece. He was able to bring it up. When he did, there was a click of something unlocking. He then backed off and tried to levitate it again. This time he was much more successful. He slowly moved the false floor off to the side revealing a sturdy iron trap door. There were no visible locking mechanisms which meant it was magically locked. Mad-Eye studied it carefully, looking for tell-tale magical signatures.

"He said it was keyed into himself?"

"Yes," answered Rufus.

"Well, I can see threads of magic radiating off of it. Several appear benign but there's a whole host of black ones that look pretty nasty. Maybe if I have a look at the ward stone I can see if I can tell them apart."

They went into the library to inquire as to the location of the ward stone. Narcissa called one of the elves to show them to it. Unfortunately, they were unable to gain access to it. As they had feared, you had to have Malfoy blood in order to access it. Even Narcissa couldn't access it. She was probably upstairs laughing to herself at them. Still, Mad-Eye was able to see some bits of magic surrounding the area that looked similar to what he had seen upstairs.

"Well, looks like it's up to you lads now," he said to the curse breakers. "Best be careful. Constant Vigilance!"

The two curse breakers took their time to study the energies emanating from the door. They had a detection spell that could give them a similar drawing to what Mad-Eye had seen through his magical eye. That would help them determine what spells may have been used. When they cast it, a web of many different colors showed. There were quite a few that were straw-colored. Those were similar to the ones Mad-Eye had seen downstairs at the ward stone. Apparently that was Lucius' magical signature weaved in among the others.

After a good twenty minutes of study, the wizard with the black hair spoke, "He wasn't kidding about this killing someone who tries to access it. I haven't seen wards like this since I was in Egypt!"

His companion agreed, "I was only there for three months, but this is worse than anything else I saw there."

Rufus asked, "Will you be able to break it?"

The blond answered, "How long do you have? It would just be easier if you bring Malfoy here and have him open it."

Mad-Eye interrupted, "He probably has some sort of self-destruct ward on here that he can trip if he's being coerced. Better if we can get in without him. I'm sure he's sitting in his cell at the Ministry laughing at us already."

"Well, let me put it this way, there's one curse on there that I can identify and if you attempt to enter without releasing the wards in the right sequence it will peel your skin off while it boils your blood. If I were you, I'd see if you could get Gorpog from Gringotts. I don't think there's a curse or ward he can't break."

"I'll go back to the Ministry and speak with Minister Bones about the feasibility of asking the Goblins for assistance. See if you can break through any while I'm gone without blowing up the place. It may take a while before we can get the Goblins here," sighed Rufus. He turned and left, apparating to the Ministry once he was beyond the protections of the Manor.


	51. The Longest Day, Part II

**A/N: The technology problem has been fixed, but it's put me behind in my writing getting the new laptop set up. To give me a little space, I'm not going to post an update next week. I know, but I need some breathing room here. Luckily, I lost nothing at all on this story, so I got off lucky!**

51\. The Longest Day, Part II

Amelia was meeting with Dirk Cresswell. She needed to get with the Goblins regardless of what they found at Malfoy Manor. Getting access to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault was now a priority. She'd left word at both Potter Hall and Black Hall for Sirius to contact her immediately.

"So, do you think if I wrote a letter to Ragnok, he would see me?"

"It would be worth a try. Fudge always had me be the intermediary. He never saw fit to deal with them directly. If I may ask, what is so urgent?"

"I'm afraid I can't discuss this with you. Suffice it to say it is important to both the wizard and Goblin alike. I would, however, like you to deliver it personally to Ragnok if you would."

"Of course, Minister."

"No need for you to wait here. It will take me a bit to get it worded properly. I will offer to meet with him at Gringotts as well."

Cresswell's eyes grew wide. It was almost unheard of that a sitting Minister met directly with the Goblins on their territory. Evidently this was a matter of grave importance. He exited her office and returned to his, waiting for the summons to deliver the letter.

Amelia pondered the turn of events of the day. Who would have thought a minor trial of a senior Ministry official would lead to the downfall of Lucius Malfoy. Well, no matter. She needed the Goblins on her side. If there was another horcrux in Bellatrix's vault, she'd need their help getting to it. While the Goblins hadn't exactly taken sides in the last war, they had less appetite for Voldemort than they did for the Ministry. She began writing her missive, being direct as to her reason for communicating with them. She had just finished the letter when Emily notified her that Sirius was here.

"Thank you for coming, Sirius."

"Of course! I apologize for the delay. I'd gone directly to Gerald's office to make him aware of the latest additions to the Potter and Black fortunes. This way I won't have to get too involved in the minutiae."

"Certainly understandable. We just finished interrogating Lucius Malfoy a bit ago. He had several interesting things to say. The one that concerns you is that I think I know where another of the horcruxes are. Apparently Voldemort gave one to Bellatrix Lestrange."

Sirius gave a low whistle, "Did he say which one?"

"Yes, Hufflepuff's cup. It is supposed to be in her Gringotts vault."

"Well, that makes it a bit dicey. It depends on who has access to it with her in prison. My guess would be Narcissa since she's her closest relative. That may make it easier on us getting it. Perhaps you can make a deal with her to retrieve the cup in exchange for her freedom."

"That would be an acceptable trade. I doubt she has had that much involvement in Lucius' Death Eater activities."

Sirius' eyes grew wide, "You asked him!"

"I did. And he confessed. And he also confessed to planting the diary on Ginny Weasley last year. He also denied being under the Imperius curse at all."

Sirius was tempted to dance a jig at that, but now was not the time to gloat, "Do you think he'll give up the rest of them, then?"

"I haven't considered that just yet. I'm not sure what I have to trade him for. The difference between a life term in Azkaban or the Kiss? Neither options are very appealing. Well, that brings me back to the reason I asked you here. It appears we are going to need the cooperation of the Goblins sooner rather than later. The sooner we get that cup destroyed, the better for us all. I know Fudge had no love for them and kept them at arm's length. I had Dirk Cresswell in here before you and he said Cornelius never met with them; Dirk handled any business between them"

"I'm sure that didn't set well with them."

"Apparently not."

"They had no love for Albus either. You saw how he ignored them when they came to harvest the basilisk. He didn't even speak to them when they left. You don't slight the goblins like that and get away with it. I wouldn't be surprised if his vault isn't losing money hand over fist."

"Well, I'm quite happy to have them on my side and if showing them a little humility is all it takes, well, there are worse things."

Just then, Emily knocked on the door and stuck her head in, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Director Scrimgeour is here. I told him Lord Black was here and he said what he needed to speak with you about could be discussed with him as well."

"Show him in, then."

Rufus entered and, with a moment's hesitation, shook Sirius' hand, "I take it the Minister filled you in on the surprises from Malfoy's interrogation."

"Yes. We were just talking about it."

"What's of such urgency, Rufus?"

"Malfoy wasn't kidding when he said there were some dangerous wards on the entrance to his storage area under his sitting room. One of the Unspeakables with us said they hadn't seen anything so lethal since he was in Egypt. They identified one of the curses. If you tried to access the room without proper authorization, it would peel your skin off while boiling your blood."

The other two people in the room shivered unconsciously.

"That was just one?"

"Yes, they were trying to determine the others when I left. They suggested that you request the services of Gorpog from the Goblins. Alternatively, they suggested bringing Malfoy there and have him open it."

"It's that deadly?" asked Amelia.

"Apparently. There was a false floor over the access door. It served as a barrier to the curses somehow."

"Well, you're just in time. I was speaking with Sirius about requesting the Goblins' assistance in another, related matter."

Sirius said, "Perhaps if I take your letter to Ragnok, he may be more forthcoming in assisting us. I am already working with the Goblins on the other matter."

"I think that would be a good option."

The three of them talked for a few more minutes before Amelia gave the letter to Sirius and he left for Diagon Alley.

As he walked from the Leaky Cauldron to Gringotts, he put his plan together. He would start with Griphook rather than requesting an immediate meeting with Ragnok. Griphook was familiar with the horcruxes. While Silvergrip was his personal account manager, going to one more familiar with these activities would be in their best interests. He made his request to one of the Goblins at the front and was shortly shown to Griphook's office.

"Thank you for seeing me, Griphook."

"How may I assist you today, Lord Black?"

He knew not to beat around the bush with a Goblin; they appreciated directness, "I assume you are aware of the proceedings in today's Wizengamot meeting." He didn't know how they knew, but they always knew as soon as something happened.

"Of course."

"Well, apparently during the interrogation of Lucius Malfoy, he mentioned the existence of another horcrux."

That got Griphook's attention, "And where might we find this?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."

"I do not see how that concerns you."

"It does indirectly. My godson, Harry, and I had a long discussion with Albus Dumbledore the other day and he gave us a list of known or suspected horcruxes. One of the ones he described fits the description of what's in Bellatrix's vault. However, that is not the only thing. Minister Bones has asked to meet with Ragnok personally to discuss another situation that has arisen. She has asked me to be her emissary to him on her behalf. I have a letter to deliver to him, personally if possible. She is quite willing to meet with Ragnok here at Gringotts."

Sirius let that sink in a bit. The one thing about Goblins is that you could never tell what they were thinking. All of them wore this slightly malicious sneer on their faces.

"If you would wait here a moment, I will enquire as to Director Ragnok's availability."

"Thank you Griphook."

Sirius sat there for about thirty minutes before Griphook returned.

"Please follow me."

Griphook led him through the warren of offices that made up Gringotts London. He was sure he'd passed by several places more than once. Finally they arrived at a nondescript door which Griphook opened and went through, leaving Sirius to follow him.

"Wait here."

Other than the seat occupied by Ragnok's assistant (or bodyguard), there were no other chairs in the anteroom. Griphook came out and motioned for him to follow him. Sirius wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was to address the senior Goblin; the Blacks had deemed them beneath their notice (except when they needed financial advice). So, to be sure, Sirius gave a short bow.

"Director Ragnok, thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"Lord Black. Griphook informs me you have a matter of concern to both wizards and Goblins."

"I do. First, let me present to you a letter from Madam Amelia Bones, currently the Acting Minister for Magic." Sirius removed the letter from his robes and handed it to the Goblin. Ragnok then opened it and read its contents.

"Your Minister is rather vague as to her reasons for requesting a meeting. Are you free to elaborate?" This would see just how much the wizards needed them if they sent someone who was more than just a minor Ministry functionary.

"There are two separate but somewhat related issues. One of those I have a personal interest in as you will see. You are aware that Lucius Malfoy was arrested this morning, I presume?"

"Of course."

"As a result of questioning him, they were made aware of a cache of dark items located in Malfoy Manor. Our cursebreakers have been working on the access door, but recommended that we hire the Goblins, particularly Gorpog, to assist us."

"And the matter you have a personal interest in?"

"Lucius made us aware of another possible horcrux."

That got the senior Goblin's attention. Griphook had been keeping him updated on the destruction of these pieces of the former Dark Lord's soul.

"And this would be?"

"If it is as we suspect, it is Helga Hufflepuff's cup and it is located in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."

"And as Madam Lestrange is currently residing in Azkaban prison, how do you propose to gain access?"

"I assume there is a personal responsible to act on her behalf?"

"There is."

"And I also assume that it is Narcissa Malfoy."

"It is. However, there are other, perhaps easier, methods of access."

Sirius looked stumped. He'd thought of every possibility, he thought.

"I apologize, Ragnok, but I am at a loss."

"I believe Madam Lestrange is a Black, is she not?"

Finally, the knut dropped and he understood just where the Goblin was leading him.

He held up his wand and said, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do hereby cast out Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black for actions against the House. I declare her marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange null and void. I hereby revoke any dowry provided by the House of Black and seize all assets held. So say I. So mote it be." He was quickly surrounded by a gold light.

"Very good, Lord Black. You may access that vault at your convenience. Now, your Minister indicates she would be amenable to meeting here at Gringotts, correct?"

"Yes."

"And I am sure you both would like that meeting sooner rather than later."

"At your convenience, of course."

"Of course. I believe I am available for a meeting in one hour."

"That will be most generous of you. If you will excuse me, I will return to the Ministry and pass your reply to Minister Bones."

Sirius maintained his bearing until he was out of Gringotts, then went to the nearest apparition point and went straight to the Ministry. Emily was still there and was a bit surprised to see him again so soon. He was quickly ushered in to her office.

"Did you get thrown out of Gringotts?"

Sirius grinned, "Not at all. In fact, Ragnok will be happy to meet with us in less than an hour now."

"Well that was fast! Maybe I should take some lessons from you."

"I don't recommend the getting thrown into Azkaban part, though. That's not even the best news."

Amelia was surprised it could get better, "It's not?"

"I am now the proud owner of one Bellatrix Lestrange's vault! As Head of the House, I forgot I had the authority to dissolve her marriage and seize all of her assets. Ragnok gave me a little prod. I can enter it at will."

"Would you consider becoming my Senior Undersecretary?" she said, and was actually quite serious about the offer.

"I think I like operating outside the confines of the establishment. Remus told me Minerva had actually thought of me to fill in as Transfiguration Professor. I can see Remus, but never me!"

The two talked for a few more minutes, then she took a few minutes to freshen herself up for the visit to Gringotts.

It did not go unnoticed by the patrons of Diagon Alley that the Acting Minister for Magic and Lord Sirius Black were seen entering Gringotts together nor did it take long for Rita Skeeter to find herself a plum spot (away from the guards) near the entrance.

The two walked up to an open teller and let him know they had an appointment with Ragnok. Presently another Goblin arrived to escort them to Ragnok's office.

While the substance of the meeting was essentially the same as Sirius had outlined, the significance was not lost on any of the parties. It had been a long time since a Minster for Magic had spoken directly with the head of Gringotts London. While each party maintained their dignity, they were both sizing each other up. Apparently Ragnok decided he could work with this Minister.

"Now, as to your request for assistance with Malfoy Manor, I have spoken to Gorpog and he has a team he can take there at your convenience. He is also interested in the item you spoke about before, Lord Black. He was the one who examined your godson. He also indicated he had destroyed another item that you brought to us as well. Of course, we will bill the Ministry for their time."

"I am thankful for his assistance. We are hopeful that he has discovered a method to remove the one in Harry," said Sirius

"I believe he has found a way to remove the soul piece while not injuring the host. Wizards are not the only ones indebted to Mr. Potter."

"Ragnok, while I don't know how long I will be serving as the Acting Minister, I hope that we can improve relationships between our people," said Amelia.

"As do I, Madam Bones. Now, if I am not mistaken, there is a bit of a crowd outside the main entrance. My assistant will take you to our private floo to allow you to return to the Ministry."

"Thank you for your consideration. May your profits be many and your gold plentiful."

"And yours as well."

When they arrived in Amelia's office, she thanked Sirius for his assistance. He then asked if he might be allowed to go to Malfoy Manor. When asked why, he told her that as Narcissa is a Black, she might require sanctuary from the House. She sent a patronus message to Rufus that the Goblins would be arriving shortly and that Sirius Black would also be arriving with her full permission.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

Sirius apparated to the outskirts of the Malfoy property. He was not looking forward to seeing Narcissa, but as the Head of House Black, she was still a member and his responsibility. Hopefully she wasn't as obnoxious as her husband. He had had some interactions with her over the years, but it had been a very long time. He was met at the door by an elf and escorted to the Library where Narcissa was waiting while the search was going on.

"Sirius. What brings you here? Come to gloat over Lucius' misfortunes?"

"Actually, no. I am here as the Head of House Black. You are still a member and I still have responsibility for you. I have come to see if you need anything and that you are treated properly during the search. Has Lord Cornfoot spoken with you yet?"

She had not expected Sirius to give that as a reason at all. Still she retained her poise, "No. I assume he is still meeting with Lucius."

"That ended several hours ago. I wonder what could be keeping him. Would you like me to check on your behalf?"

"If you are able."

Sirius went into the drawing room and went to speak to Rufus.

"Rufus, we seem to keep running into each other."

"Apparently so. What brings you here?"

"I have come to ensure that Narcissa is being cared for."

"Really? Not here to watch the Goblins work?"

"No. And she is still a member of House Black."

"I'm still having a hard time picturing you as the Head of an Ancient and Most Noble House."

"Sometimes I am as well. Apparently Lord Cornfoot has not made it here yet?"

"Haven't seen him. He left about the same time I did."

"Would you mind if I enquired for her?"

"You know as well as I do that owl post is restricted during searches."

"I was wondering if I might use an elf."

"The Malfoy elves are also restricted to the house."

"I, well Harry, have an elf who formerly belonged to the Malfoys. He is now bound to Harry. I suspect he would still be able to get through the Malfoy wards."

"As long as I am privy to your dealings with him, I will allow it."

"Dobby."

A minute later a small elf popped into view. As soon as he realized where he was, he began to shake violently.

"Mmmaster Ddddoggie cccalled Dddobby?"

"Relax, Dobby. You're just here for a quick errand then you can return to Potter Hall. Don't think for one minute we would ever think of returning you to the Malfoys."

Seeing the elf relax, he continued, "I need you to take a message to Lord Cornfoot. He may be in his offices in Diagon Alley. Tell him that Lady Malfoy requests his assistance while the Aurors are searching the Manor and that I am serving as her representative until he is able to get here."

"Yes Master Doggie."

"If you will come back and let me know what he says, then you can return to Potter Hall. Thank you Dobby."

The elf then popped away, quite happy to be out of Malfoy Manor again. Sirius waited patiently where he was, knowing Dobby probably didn't want to come anywhere near Narcissa. Dobby returned with the message that Lord Cornfoot would be arriving presently then beat a hasty retreat.

Sirius walked back into the library, "Alex will be here shortly."

"How did you get word to him? All communications in and out are restricted."

"I happen to know a way around it. It does help being a former Auror sometimes."

There was an awkward silence before Narcissa spoke again, "You appear to have recovered rather well from your time in Azkaban."

"There are still moments when it doesn't feel like it. But now I have Harry to care for."

"As it should have been after that night. Your godson appears to have grown up rather well without you though."

"Harry has done well despite my absence in his life. I hope it will get even better now."

"Draco doesn't seem to get along very well with him."

"Nor does Harry get along with Draco. There will always be grudges at Hogwarts. Hopefully they will grow out of them. It does no one good to keep harboring them."

"True. I understand there was a bit of hostilities at the start of term."

"Yes, Harry told me about it. While his method of going about it could have been better, I have to give him an O for results."

"Lucius and Severus had quite a discussion over it. I hope there haven't been any further incidences."

"Not that I am aware of."

Another pregnant pause resulted before Lord Cornfoot stepped into the room.

"Madam Malfoy, I apologize for the delay in arriving but things were a bit hectic at the Ministry."

"Sirius was just about to tell me what happened."

"Apparently he provided Dolores Umbridge with several blood quills."

"Why in the world would he do that? He can't stand that witch!"

"He confessed to it under Veritaserum as well as possessing other dark artifacts. The Ministry is pulling out all the stops to break the wards to the hiding place."

"They are serious about this then?"

"Quite. Are you aware of anything else in the Manor that could be confiscated during a search?"

Narcissa looked warily at Sirius.

"Whatever you tell me as Head of House will be kept confidential and I will not use it in my dealings at the Wizengamot."

"Still, Lord Black, I think it would be best for both of us if Madam Malfoy spoke with me in confidence for now."

Sirius nodded, "I'll just check and see what the Aurors are up to. Auror Tonks, could you join me outside momentarily while Lord Cornfoot consults with his client?"

"I was told to stay with Madam Malfoy."

"I think you can guard her from the other side of the door."

The two walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"If Rufus sees this I'll be working night shifts for the next year."

"No you won't. You are allowed to let a person consult with their solicitor in private. I'll take any blame. So, you're Andromeda's daughter?"

"I am, Lord Black."

"Please! You're family. Call me Sirius."

"As long as you don't call me Nymphadora."

"I wondered at Andy's sanity when she named you that. What do you prefer, then?"

"Tonks."

"Well, Tonks, I haven't had a chance to speak with Andy and Ted yet, but I will very soon. I will be calling a family meeting for the first day after winter holidays start at Hogwarts. I want Harry to be here for it."

"But we're not …"

"Whatever Walburga did doesn't matter now. If I can throw Bellatrix out of the family, then I can certainly bring Andy back in."

Tonks' eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face, "You didn't!"

"Of course I did. There's a lot more involved in what happened and I'd appreciate you keeping this to yourself for now, even from your parents."

"Sure. So you were the mangy mutt Harry brought with him to the Magical Menagerie this summer?"

Sirius changed into his dog animagus form, circled around Tonks twice, gave her a big slobbery kiss, then returned to his human form, "Who are you calling mangy?"

Tonks laughed, "Mum always said you were the jokester of the family."

"Guilty as charged."

"So how is Harry? Mum was totally surprised when she found out we were one of the families that were supposed to have taken him. It would have been cool having a little brother."

"He's doing better. He still has a lot to get through first before things really improve."

"I heard about the charges against Dumbledore. I was shocked as were mum and dad."

"There is so much that hasn't come out yet. It will."

Lord Cornfoot came out of the room at that point, "You may both come back, I wouldn't want Auror Tonks to get in any trouble."

"Well, technically, I'm still a trainee, so I really have to be on my best behavior."

Sirius did take time to see how the Goblins were progressing. Apparently they were still identifying the wards and curses on the entry point.

"Sirius, you really don't need to be here. Alex will ensure my interests are protected."

"I just wanted you to know that if you require sanctuary, the House of Black will provide it."

Narcissa was stunned. The last thing she had thought would happen would be for Sirius to offer her protection, especially with Lucius' past, "That is most kind of you, Lord Black," she said, resuming a more formal tone as the occasion required, "I believe that I do not require it at the moment, but I will keep your offer in mind as the situation may change."

"You will find me either at Black Hall or Potter Hall if you see that you require my assistance." Sirius bowed, then departed the room. After checking out with Rufus, he walked to the front gate and apparated home, finally calling the day done.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

With the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match the next day, nobody wanted to find themselves serving a detention. Harry and Hermione were planning to go down to the dungeons an hour earlier than usual to give them plenty of time to get to the match. Strangely enough, after Potions class, Professor Snape had kept Harry back to ask a favor. He'd had time to review Lily's journal and had some questions for her so, if it wouldn't be an imposition, could he bring her portrait with him when they came? Of course, Harry agreed. It was all he could do to hold back the laugh that wanted to bubble up until he got safely away from the dungeons and could tell his friends. Ron thought it was quite hilarious, but Hermione took it all in stride.

Ron was, of course, still sleeping when Harry met Hermione in the Common Room. He'd probably wander down to the Great Hall about an hour before the match. They ate quickly then, seeing the Potions Master leave the Great Hall, followed him down. Harry went into the professor's office and enlarged the portrait of his parents, then closed the door behind himself.

While the students were working in the classroom, Severus took the opportunity to talk to Lily about her discoveries.

"I have read through your journal. In fact, I've read it through several times. You have some very good suggestions to alter the Wolfsbane potion. I've read through Damocles Belby's journals he kept on the original development of the Wolfsbane and several of these options were tried, but were unsuccessful. The largest problem is that the aconite is so toxic itself and doesn't lend to mixing well with other ingredients."

"Yes. Remus and I discussed several of the options, but I never had a chance to try any of them out."

"Belby came out with a modified version about five years after your … passing. It contains the valerian. As you surmised, it helps keep the person relaxed. I'm not sure that ginger would have much value, other than to improve the taste. However, I found the possibility of Devil's Claw roots quite intriguing."

"I hadn't had time to secure a shipment to experiment with before, well …"

"I do not have any on hand either. I have a source in South Africa that I can contact for a few samples."

"I was thinking that if you squeeze the juice from the roots and use it, you would get better results than just trying to chop the roots and steep them in the potion."

"That has merit. However, my concern is the point where I should actually add it. It is quite difficult for one person to prepare the ingredients and brew the potion."

"Could you try adding it in to the potion base before even adding anything else? At least you would know immediately if there is an adverse reaction with the aconite."

"Yes, and blow up everything within fifty feet," he drawled.

"Severus! I know there are considerable wards on the dungeons and that there's actually a potions laboratory specifically warded for volatile potions."

"How do you know about that? Even I didn't learn about it until I came back here to interview with Dumbledore and Horace showed it to me."

"I promised to never reveal my sources, but I know quite a few things about the castle that not every student, or professor, knows. Remember I married a Marauder," she said cheekily.

"Of course," trying to forget that fact.

"Now tell me, Sev, how is my son doing? I've talked with Remus several times and he seems to think Harry is doing well, but I know he is a bit biased. He hasn't known Harry as long as you have."

"If you are asking about his physical health, much better, I believe. Hopefully, by the end of the month he'll be able to leave off the nutrient potion. Poppy made an adjustment to it and it should complete the job."

"And emotionally?"

"I'm afraid I'm not the one to ask that question. Perhaps Minerva?"

"Minerva is quite busy trying to fix the school. I am asking you."

"Other than the stunt the first day of class, he has been remarkably well-behaved. Usually by now he's managed to get himself into some sort of mischief. His grades are much better than they have been the previous two years. Apparently he has learned what the word 'study' means. Now if he could just teach that skill to his red-headed side kick. He seems calmer. I must applaud him for his actions regarding the salvage of the basilisk. The look on Albus' face when he realized just what he was missing out on regarding the value of its parts was priceless. I must confess I was more than surprised when he offered me a large portion of the venom."

"That's our Harry. He is a kind soul. For all that was done to him to be that way is extraordinary."

"Indeed."

There was a knock on the door, then Harry stuck his head in, "We're done, professor. It's cooling now."

"I suppose you're quite anxious to go to the Quidditch pitch, Mr. Potter."

Harry smiled, "Well, there's still another hour until the start."

"Surely you are going to wear something warmer than what you have on; you'll catch your death of cold, then you'll be wanting to make your own Pepper-Up potion."

Harry looked down at what he was wearing; jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt with a hooded sweatshirt; before replying, "Actually, I thought I was a little overdressed, Professor."

"Cheeky brat. Please ensure your workstation is properly cleaned before you depart. Thank you for bringing Lily down so I could consult with her."

"Sure Professor. Anytime you want, just let me know." Harry walked over to the portrait and told her he'd talk to them this evening, then shrunk it back and put it in his pocket.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

It hadn't taken long for the word about Lucius Malfoy's imprisonment to get out to the greater wizarding world. It had been published in the evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_. Draco had been keeping a, for him, low profile. While he had gotten some nasty comments from others in the castle, he had been quite surprised that none of it had come from the expected source - Potter, the mudblood and the weasel. His housemates in Slytherin had kept to themselves knowing that, thank Merlin, it could have been their parents in quite a number of cases. As they were walking down to the Quidditch pitch, he happened to see the aforementioned trio. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to change direction due to the number of students around him. He was even more surprised when he passed them and they said nothing.

Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had reasonably good teams, however their brooms were much slower than Slytherin. With both teams apparently evenly matched, it would come down to their Seeker and how quickly they were able to catch the snitch. Ravenclaw surprised everyone by taking an early lead. After an hour of play, the score was Ravenclaw 150 and Hufflepuff 50. Lee Jordan was getting bored commentating, but he kept the game lively. Finally Ravenclaw's Seeker, Cho Chang, started in a steep dive, ending with the Snitch in her hand. The final score was Ravenclaw 320, Hufflepuff 60.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

The next two weeks were relatively calm at Hogwarts. The same couldn't be said for the rest of wizarding Britain. It had taken the Goblins nearly a full day before they broke through the wards surrounding the hidden storage area in Malfoy Manor, but it had been worth it for the Ministry. There were charmed and cursed items dating back centuries stored in the room as well as potions that no one had been able to identify. Severus Snape had been called in as a last resort to help identify them and determine how to safely transport or, if not stable enough to transport, destroy. The Potions Master he had studied under in France was knowledgeable in all forms of potions, not just those deemed "Light". It had taken him several days, days that his students had been quite happy to spend in other pursuits, to identify and neutralize them all. Malfoy Manor had been thoroughly searched and no other items had been found. Once the Ministry had seized all of the items in the hidden room, they had departed, leaving Narcissa alone to ponder her fate as well as that of her husband. She had brought Draco home the following weekend to allow them time to digest all that had happened.

Sirius had taken the time to enter Bellatrix Lestrange's vault in search of the cup. While the vault contained quite a bit of gold and other artifacts, there were also more than a few articles of so called "dark" items. It had taken him several hours before he found the item he'd been searching for. He could feel the evil emanating from the small item. He had taken it straight to Griphook who sent him straight to Gorpog to destroy it. With three down, that just left the Gaunt ring and Ravenclaw's diadem that they knew of. Well, and Harry.

 **BREAK ….. BREAK ….. BREAK**

Potions class had become much more tolerable to Harry since the ceasing of overt hostilities from Snape. It wasn't a picnic by any sense of the word, but at least he was able to get his work done without the constant harassment of previous years. Oh yes, Snape still had his biting comments and pointed glares, but Harry had learned to shrug them off. Now if he could figure out how to get Neville to not freeze up every time the Professor looked at him, he would be even happier. This day was not going to be one of his better ones though.

They were working on a burn salve. It was more involved than the one they had learned in first year. While the one in first year was mostly aloe with a basic healing base, this one contained ingredients to help relieve pain as well as heal the burn. Harry was focused on his potion and ignoring everything else going on around him when he heard a 'plop'. Before he could duck out of the way, Harry had been covered in potion. The potion was at the point where just the pain relieving part had been brewed so when it got on him, his skin went completely numb, which, in this case, was a good thing.

"Weasley, take Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing. Mr. Goyle, you will remain after class."

Ron quickly helped Harry out of the room and up to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey indicated Harry's usual bed and Ron put him there. He was still hovering when she told him to make himself useful and let Professor Lupin know what happened. Once he left, she quickly removed Harry's robes and uniform. The potion had been hot when it sprayed all over him, but at least it was not causing pain. She cleaned the remaining potion from his skin then summoned a pot of the exact burn salve they'd been brewing and began to spread it over the burned areas. Harry was quite embarrassed over the mediwitch stripping him down to his pants, but once the salve began to cover the burn spots, he sighed in relief.

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey."

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Luckily the potion that you were covered in actually helped in this case. Now, you should let that sit for thirty minutes before you put your clothes back on. I would send Weasley back to your dorm for fresh robes when he returns. I'll be back to check on you shortly. Do not leave until I have given you permission young man," she said with a glare.

Once she was around the curtain, Harry called for Dobby.

"Harry called Dobby?"

"Hi Dobby! Could you take these clothes and get them cleaned up for me? And get me a clean set out of my trunk? Oh, and let Sirius know I was in a potions accident, but Madam Pomfrey's taken care of me and I'll be out of here in a half hour?"

"Of course. Master Doggie won't be happy to hear you hurt yourself."

"It wasn't my fault! Someone tossed something in my potion. Tell him that Ron went to get Remus and I think Professor Snape is taking care of the person who did it."

Dobby quickly returned with a fresh set of clothes for Harry then took the soiled ones away. Harry was sure he'd see them back in his trunk later. It didn't take long for Remus' head to poke around the curtains.

"Are you all right, cub?"

"Yeah. Whoever it was picked the right potion to sabotage. Made the skin where it hit all numb."

"I will speak with Severus about the incident. Will you be fine or would you like to spend the rest of the day with Sirius?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind spending the rest of the day with Sirius, but there's no real problem. Madam Pomfrey should be letting me go in a few more minutes. Dobby just brought me a fresh change of clothes and is going to tell Sirius what happened. Plus it's almost lunchtime and I'm hungry!"

Remus laughed. If Harry could joke about that, then he must be fine. He was about to tell him so when two heads appeared around the curtain. Harry looked at them in horror, "Hermione!" It wasn't as bad that Ron was there - he'd seen him in his pants plenty of times. Hermione realized Harry's state of undress and quickly pulled her head back, turning bright red in embarrassment. Harry and Remus looked at each other and both laughed. At that point, Remus' mirror vibrated.

"Remus! How's Harry? Was he burned bad? Does Madam Pomfrey need help? I can have Andromeda check on him."

"Relax, Padfoot. Harry is just fine. Madam Pomfrey should be letting him go in just a few minutes."

"I'm fine, Sirius! I was splashed with a burn potion of all things!"

"Well, if you think you need to come home for the weekend to recover, I'll contact Minerva."

Harry laughed, "Well, I wouldn't mind coming home, but I have several things I need to do here this weekend, plus I've still got DADA after lunch and that professor is really strict, even worse than the Potions Master."

"If Moony thinks you're well enough, then I'm good with that, but if you feel bad, I want you to let him know immediately!"

Just then, Madam Pomfrey came around the curtain, "Well, based on the amount of laughter coming from this bed, I take it you are fully recovered Mr. Potter?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey. May I go to lunch now?"

"Yes you may, but if you notice any other problems I expect you to return here."

Everyone left the curtained area while Harry put his clothes back on. Once he joined them, Hermione instantly hugged him, "I'm so sorry, Harry! I didn't realize you were in that condition," she said, turning bright red again.

"I'm fine Hermione! Now, let's go to lunch before I'm in trouble for missing a meal." Harry winked at Remus then the group left the hospital wing in search of food.


	52. Preparations

**A/N: We're back on a regular posting schedule again. I know I'm evil for making you wait another chapter for the trial of the century, but hey, it's my story and I can do that!**

52\. Preparations

In the period of time since the trials of Umbridge and the Crouches, the wizarding world had settled down again. Sirius had met with Narcissa Malfoy two more times to ensure her interests were being properly taken care of. The Ministry had frozen Lucius' vault, however Narcissa's personal vault was still available. Lucius had ensured it was well provided for just such circumstances. She had declined Sirius' offer for assistance, wanting to wait to see what the trial results would be. She had no doubt he would be found guilty of all charges; her only uncertainty was in what would happen to him afterwards.

Sirius had been meeting with various factions of the British wizarding world. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that a pall of complacency had settled over them all in the intervening years. With war no longer an imminent threat, they had gone about their everyday lives pretty much ignoring what was happening in their world. Those members of the Wizengamot not affiliated with Malfoy had been quite happy to allow Fudge and Dumbledore to govern as they saw fit, as long as it had no major impact on themselves. Sirius was ready to light a fire under most of them to get them to realize that they got the kind of government they currently had because nobody was willing to stick their necks out for something different.

The agenda for the November Wizengamot meeting was quite short. With Barty Crouch, Senior in Azkaban, there would be no update on the TriWizard Tournament. Someone would need to be appointed prior to the ICW meeting in December as it was a subject for discussion there. Ludo Bagman would give his update on the plans for the Quidditch World Cup. There were reports from several other minor ministry departments scheduled. Anything else of any importance could wait until the December meeting.

Sirius had arranged to pick Harry up the Wednesday night before the trial to allow them some time together before the trial and had also told Minerva that he intended to keep Harry until Sunday night to give them both a chance to process the events of the day. Hermione had volunteered to make his nutrient potion for him that weekend. He'd told Harry to be sure to bring his homework with him. He'd also told Remus to keep an eye on him. Even though they knew most of what Albus had to say, there was no telling what might also come out that hadn't been discussed.

Sirius floo'd into Minerva's office shortly before dinner Wednesday night. Remus was there with Harry.

"Minerva, good to see you again, I think."

"As you, Sirius. I understand congratulations are in order."

"For what, Sirius?" asked Harry.

"I've been appointed to the Hogwarts Board of Governors," grinned Sirius.

"You what? And you kept that from me? Now I'll never be able to get away with anything!" Harry said in a huff.

The three adults all laughed, "Well, you shouldn't have anything needing to get away with, Mr. Potter," said Minerva.

"What they don't know, I won't tell," said Sirius, ruffling Harry's messy hair. "Will you be there tomorrow, Minerva?"

"Of course. I'm sure there are more than a few things that I was unaware of that will come out tomorrow. Plus, I want to make sure the doddering old fool is punished for what he did to Harry."

"And what about what he did to you and Severus and Poppy?"

"Yes, us too, but Harry is much more important."

"I'm sure Remus told you that I've asked him to escort Harry to the courtroom tomorrow. Would you also sit with him?"

"I'd be happy to. I think Severus is also considering going. I'm sure the students wouldn't mind a day without Potions as well as Defense."

"Remus will pick Harry up at Black Hall then escort him to the Ministry. Amelia is allowing them to floo directly to her office in order to avoid some of the crowd."

"Have you gotten all of your assignments for tomorrow and Friday, Harry?" asked Remus.

"Yeah. Hermione's going to take notes for me. If I need anything else I'm sure I can find it in one of the libraries."

"And you have your dress robes?" asked Sirius.

"I just shrunk my whole trunk and brought it with me to save time."

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Minerva."

Sirius sent Harry through the floo first with a destination of Potter Hall. He still wanted to keep the direct floo address of Black Hall private for now. As soon as Harry made it through he was almost bowled over by a small elf.

"Harry! You come to visit Dobby!"

"Yeah, for a bit at least."

Sirius came right behind him, "I asked Dobby to prepare dinner for us, then we'll go over to Black Hall for the night. We've got some things we need to do there."

Dobby had prepared all of Harry's favorites, including a huge treacle tart. Harry finally had to call it quits after the second piece. Once done, they floo'd over to Black Hall.

"Kreacher!"

An elderly elf popped into view.

"Yes, Master Sirius."

"Kreacher, this is my godson Harry Potter. You will treat him as you do me."

Kreacher bowed low, "Yes, Master Sirius. Kreacher is happy to serve the young Master. Master Harry, how may Kreacher serve you?"

"Pleased to meet you Kreacher. I don't need anything right now, but I'll let you know if I do."

"Kreacher, we're going upstairs so Harry can pick out his bedroom."

Sirius led him upstairs, stopping at the portrait of his mother. "Mother, this is my godson, Harry Potter. Harry, this is my mother, Walburga Black."

Harry bowed to the elder Black, "Madam Black, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Heir Potter. My son has told me that he wishes for me to assist you in your training. Apparently some of what I tried to teach him sunk into his thick skull as that was a proper greeting."

"I'm not a total failure, Mother."

"That remains to be seen. However, I believe I can work with this one."

"Thank you Madam Black. I look forward to what I can learn from you." Harry bowed again to the portrait.

"Come on, Harry, let's go upstairs."

He showed Harry the rooms on the ground floor including the dining room and library. On the first floor he showed him where his room was.

"There are six other bedrooms on this floor. The Master Suite and Guest Suite have ensuite baths while the other two two-bedroom suites share bathrooms between them. On the third floor are three other two-bedroom suites with the bathrooms between them. That's where Regulus and I lived. Regulus and I each shared bathrooms with another empty room and then there is another two-bedroom guest suite. I don't know which room you would prefer. Regulus and I moved up there once we were old enough to realize we didn't want our parents to watch our every move," laughed Sirius.

"I don't really care," said Harry, a bit overwhelmed. He was going to have his own private bedroom!

"Why don't you start with the one down here with a private bath. If you decide later you want a little more privacy, you can move upstairs."

Sirius took him over to the larger room. Beside the four poster bed and wardrobe, there was also a sitting area with a sofa, two chairs and tables with a desk and bookcase in a separate alcove. There was also a large picture window with a window seat. Harry couldn't help that his jaw dropped open.

"I realize this is probably a bit more than you were expecting, but whatever you want will be fine with me. We'll get Kreacher to redecorate it for you. If there's something else you'd like, we can go to Diagon Alley and get what you want or even into Muggle London if there's something there you'd rather have."

"I really don't need this much, Sirius! I can take one of the other rooms!"

"You may not need it, but you are going to get it. So, how do you want your room to look? Gryffindor colors?"

"Well, I like the red and gold, but I get enough of that at Hogwarts."

"I know you probably spent many hours dreaming about how you would decorate a room of your own, so now is your chance."

"I've always wanted something light and airy. Light blues and yellows. Maybe a light yellow for the walls and a darker blue carpet?"

"We can do that. What about your bed furnishings?"

"Well, I'm sure we can find something that blends those two colors. I'm not against any green, just as long as it's not Slytherin green," he chuckled.

"Yeah, my room was decorated in all green and silver. I got rid of that straightaway. We'll start with that, then see what else you may want."

Sirius called Kreacher and told him what they wanted. They adjourned down to the sitting room while that was being taken care of. As soon as they sat down, a tray of tea and biscuits appeared.

"I know you are worried about tomorrow, but you've heard directly from Albus already about most of the charges. If there is something else you would like to know, let me know and I'll pass it to Amelia."

"Well, I'd still like to know who told Voldemort the prophesy."

"I would too, but I have to agree with Albus. Nothing will be gained by knowing it. It would just be another person to be angry with and I think you've had quite enough of those for a lifetime. Remus should be here about eight then the three of us will floo over to Amelia's office. If she's got any other questions to ask you about, this will give her a chance to do it. I thought you might like to go down to the Department of Mysteries to hear the prophesy yourself, so I made an appointment for half eight."

"So what happens once I hear it? Dumbledore's already told it to me."

"Since it is about you and Voldemort is no longer with us physically, you have the option to destroy it afterwards."

"So if old Moldyshorts ever comes back, he can't ever find out the rest? Brilliant!"

"Exactly. Now, I think it's about time you go to bed young man. It's going to be a busy and stressful day tomorrow. Do you think you'll be able to sleep?"

"I think so."

"Well, if you do have problems, don't hesitate to wake me up. We'll get out your parents' portrait and tell stories until you fall asleep."

"Can we do that anyway?"

"Yeah, pup, we can."

Harry pulled out his trunk and resized it then pulled out the portrait of his parents. They took turns telling him about their life up until Harry was born until he fell asleep against Sirius. Sirius quietly picked him up and took him upstairs. The boy was still too light for a thirteen year old.

OoOoOoOoOo

November 25th was a bit blustery in London. Although Sirius wasn't usually an early riser, today he made sure to be up before Harry. He knocked on Harry's door then went in and woke the sleepy teenager up.

"Time to get up, pup. Why don't you come downstairs and eat first before getting dressed. Then you won't worry about getting your dress robes dirty."

Harry rolled over and looked at Sirius with tired eyes, "Already?"

"Yes, already. Anything special you want for breakfast?"

"Waffles?"

"Fine, but you're eating something else besides loading up on waffles. No telling what time we'll get done today."

Sirius went downstairs to let Kreacher know what to prepare, then sat down with the _Daily Prophet_ to see what the latest nonsense they were publishing. Someone needed to give them an example of what professional journalism is. Remus arrived just as Harry stumbled downstairs. It didn't take long for breakfast to appear. Besides Harry's requested waffles, Kreacher had made eggs and sausages as well as a fruit cup. The smell of the food woke Harry up further and he began to dig into the meal. Sirius looked at him fondly, seeing the boy finally able to eat a teenager-sized breakfast. Once done, they both went upstairs to change.

When Harry came back downstairs in his dress robes, he took one look at Sirius and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Those purple robes! They look like something Dumbledore would wear!"

"These are not purple, I'll have you know. They are plum! And you've seen them before!" he said, laughing with his godson. "They do look a bit ridiculous, don't they? Now, we're going to floo to Amelia's office. The destination is 'Minister for Magic's office' and the password is 'Black'. Do you think you can manage it?"

"Yeah. I think I've finally got this flooing thing down. Now if I could just manage to not land in a heap on the other end."

"The trick is to start walking just before you land," said Remus.

While Harry didn't land in a heap, he still wasn't quite as graceful as Sirius was when he came out of the floo. Sirius quickly cleaned the soot off of them both before turning to Amelia's assistant, "Good morning, Emily. You're here bright and early."

"Good morning to you, too, Lord Black. Harry, it's good to see you again as well. Mr. Lupin."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Minister Bones just arrived. Your escort from the Department of Mysteries should be here any time now."

"Thank you. We'll just wait over there for them to get here." Sirius directed Harry to a sofa. Harry was getting familiar with the Minister's office after being in it a few times now. Promptly at half eight, a wizard with their face obscured came into the office and walked over to them.

"Lord Black, Mr. Potter, if you'd just follow me." He then led them to the lifts and down to the Department of Mysteries.

Harry leaned over and asked Sirius, "Why is he covered up like that?"

"They call themselves Unspeakables because they are not allowed to tell anyone what they do in their jobs. Other than a few senior members, people who work in the Department of Mysteries always say they work elsewhere in the Ministry."

The lift took the four of them down into the very depths of the Ministry. The Unspeakable led them down a plain black corridor to a single door. Once they walked through it, they found themselves in a circular room with a dozen or so doors. Their escort waved his wand and a door lit up in blue.

"Follow me, please. And don't touch anything." They were led through other doors and passageways until they found themselves in a room with row upon row of shelves with scores of crystal balls of various sizes resting on them. They finally came to a stop at shelf number 97. The Unspeakable pointed his wand at one particular crystal ball. Written below it was a legend, _S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter_.

"Only the people whom a prophesy is about may remove them from this hall. If you will pick that up, Mr. Potter, and bring it with you, I will show you where you may view it."

Harry did as he was told and picked up the orb then followed the man back down the way they had come, or at least it looked that way to Harry. At the end of the hallway was a door. He opened it up and motioned them inside. "I will wait here until you are through. Take your time."

"How do I make it start?"

"Just touch your wand to it. It will begin playing. Tap your wand on it again to stop it." The man stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Inside the room was a table and several chairs. Harry set the ball on the table and sat down in one while Sirius and Remus took one on either side of him.

"Well, I guess we should listen to it, pup. I know Albus told us, but I think we need to be sure that's exactly what it says and Remus hasn't heard it all."

Harry tapped his wand on the surface and a strange female voice began to recount the prophesy. Once it began to repeat itself, Harry tapped it again.

"Well that was no surprise," said Sirius."

"In this case, I'm glad it isn't. Everything else he comes up with seems to be a surprise. So what do I do now that I've heard it?"

Remus asked, "It really could have been Neville as well then?"

"Yes," said Sirius. "But once Voldemort marked him, there was no doubt it was Harry. So, what do you want to do with it, pup?"

"Smash it to bits! I wish this had never happened," Harry said, his voice rising, "I wish nobody else had heard it and gone off to tell a madman about it! I wish Voldemort had never gone after my parents, then I could have grown up with them and you and you'd have never gone to Azkaban!"

Sirius could feel the magic building up in the room and knew he had to get Harry back under control. He reached over and pulled him into a hug, "I wish it hadn't either, pup, but it did and we need to pick up and go on."

They stayed that way for several minutes, giving them both a chance to accept that there was nothing they could change about what had happened. Finally, Sirius went to the door and asked the Unspeakable to come in.

Harry asked, "So what do I do with it now? Just put it back on the shelf?"

"You may. If you believe the prophesy has been fulfilled, then you may destroy it."

Harry looked at Sirius, "Well, I think it has. I was born at the right time. He did mark me with this scar and the other item. And he is gone. Well at least as gone as we can make him. Plus, if we destroy it, there's no chance that if he did come back he'd come after the thing. OK, so if I want to destroy it, what do I do? Just drop it on the floor?"

"Some find satisfaction in doing just that, however, a simpler way to do it is to place your wand on it and cast _Evanesco_ on it. That will remove it from this world. Some people have done a bit of both. As some orbs are harder than others, dropping it on the floor sometimes does nothing other than put a chip in it. You can place your wand on it and cast _Reducto_ , then cast _Evanesco_ to be truly sure it is destroyed."

"And the Ministry won't come after me for underage magic?"

"No. Magic done in this department is blocked from being tracked by any other department."

"Wicked!" Harry placed his wand on the globe and reduced it to minute pieces of glass, then cleaned it up in another swish. All traces of the prophesy were now gone, other than the ones in the minds of those who had heard it. Once completed, the three allowed the Unspeakable to lead them out of the Department and back to the lifts. They offered their thanks to him for his troubles and returned to the Minister's office. Amelia asked to see them briefly to inquire about any changes, then had Emily escort them to the private chamber by the courtroom.

Remus said, "I got an owl before I left from Arthur. He asked if he could join Harry in support. He said he would meet us outside the courtroom. I thought that would be a good thing to have another person with us. Minerva also said she would meet us outside the courtroom. Perhaps I should get them so we can walk in as a group?"

"I think the more the merrier. The more united a front we present, the better it will be," said Sirius. He wanted to make sure that Harry was protected from the crowds, especially the members of the press, before they all went into the room together.

Remus came back with a small crowd. Not only were Minerva and Arthur there, but so was Severus. Everyone directly affected by Albus' actions was there with the exception of Poppy.

"Poppy wanted to come, but couldn't leave the hospital wing. There was a small outbreak of dragon pox in the Hufflepuff dorm, so she's got four of them in quarantine at the moment," said Minerva.

"I appreciate you all coming to support Harry as well as for yourselves. There will be a few items of Wizengamot business to be conducted before the trials begin. I think they will have Fudge's first since it's much quicker than Albus'. If you'd rather not sit through that, I'm sure you can stay here."

Just then Emily stuck her head in, "Lord Black, if your party would like to enter now, we have a reserved section for them. It's well away from the press section. There are representatives from the international press here as well, so that section is more crowded than normal."

"Lead on, Emily."

When they entered, there were just a few members of the Wizengamot milling around. They looked at the group entering, then went back to their conversation. They were shown to the same section Harry had sat in when he came for Pettigrew's trial. Harry sat on the front row with Remus on his right and Minerva on his left. Arthur and Severus sat behind them. Anyone even thinking about talking to them had to suffer the glare of the Potions Master. Gerald entered at that moment and joined the other men behind Harry. Madam Longbottom did come over to speak to Harry.

"Good morning, Heir Potter."

Harry stood and replied, "Good morning, Madam Longbottom. I hope your day is going well."

"Fair enough. I'm sorry you have to go through this unpleasantness but hopefully it will be all done with when it's over."

"Thank you Ma'am. I hope so too."

Nobody else came over to speak with Harry. Most everyone nodded to the group when they entered the chamber. The Wizengamot members assumed their seats a bit earlier than usual due to the large crowd gathered. At fifteen minutes prior to the hour, the members of the press were allowed in and directed to a cordoned off section by the doors. Once settled, the doors were opened and members of the wizarding public were ushered in. Everyone seemed to be staring at Harry, but he just tried to ignore it. Remus and Minerva had been distracting him asking about classes and Quidditch. Finally just before the clock struck ten, Tiberius Ogden and Amelia Bones walked in and took their places. On the stroke of ten, Lord Ogden banged his gavel and called the meeting to order.

There were no new notices to be published so they got right down to the business at hand. Ludo Bagman gave his update on the Quidditch World Cup. They had located an appropriate location, however there were several Muggles in the area that they would need to deal with when the time came. The Department of Magical Transportation was surveying the site to identify points for apparition and portkeys. Likely campsites had also been identified. Ticket sales would begin on June 1st. After a couple of other minor reports, the real business of today's Wizengamot meeting began. Cornelius Fudge was the first to be brought in. Once again, Amelia was serving as prosecutor in this and Dumbledore's case.

Fudge was brought in and the two charges against him were read. The first being the illegal incarceration of Sirius Black and the second was the illegal incarceration of Rubeus Hagrid. Once the Veritaserum was administered, Amelia began her questioning.

"At the time of the incident with Sirius Black, what was your position?"

"I was the Junior Minister to the Director of the Department of Magical Catastrophes."

"Did you sign the order to send Sirius Black to Azkaban?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell us why you did it?"

"I was the first person on the scene after the disaster. I witnessed Sirius Black pointing his wand toward where the street had been blown up and yelling 'It's all my fault' over and over again. When the Aurors arrived, they asked me to come with them. We brought Black to the Ministry holding cells. Barty Crouch, Senior met us in the detention center. As we were completing the paperwork, Albus Dumbledore arrived. He said that since Black was accused of mass murder, the Ministry holding cells weren't strong enough to contain him as well as some of You Know Who's followers might try to break him out so he should be sent to Azkaban immediately. Barty pulled out the paperwork and completed it, then had Dumbledore sign it. Then he said we needed a third signature so they asked me to sign it and I did."

"Did you ever question the validity of the order?"

"No. I had no cause to. I assumed Crouch and Dumbledore knew what they were talking about."

"Did you ever go back and ensure that Sirius Black received a trial?"

"No. I was sure Barty had taken care of that."

"Until the acquittal of Sirius Black in August, did you ever check to be sure everyone in Azkaban were there properly?"

"No."

"Let's turn our attention to the incarceration of Rubeus Hagrid. What prompted you to send him to Azkaban?"

"Dumbledore had been in contact with me when the first students were petrified and the writing on the walls about the Chamber of Secrets being opened. I was a sixth year student the first time it had been opened and a student was killed. Hagrid had been blamed for one of his pets causing her death and he was expelled and his wand snapped. He was the only link between both events. Until we could resuscitate the students who had been petrified and ensure no others were harmed, it was the most prudent move at the time."

"Did Dumbledore tell you that it couldn't have been Hagrid?"

"Yes, but he always protected the man so I didn't think his judgment was sound in this matter."

"Did you investigate the incident any further after Hagrid was sent to Azkaban?"

"No. I knew Dumbledore would let me know if there were any further occurrences."

"Did you sign his release once it was determined he was innocent?"

"No. Dumbledore fire called me and said the mystery of the Chamber had been solved and everyone had recovered. Then he said he'd already sent an owl to Azkaban with release papers."

"Was Dumbledore authorized to release prisoners from Azkaban?"

"In his position as Chief Warlock he did have the authority to release prisoners if an investigation proved they were innocent."

"So in his position, he could have also freed Sirius Black once an investigation had proven his innocence or guilt?"

"Yes."

"I have no further questions. Lord Cornfoot, do you have any questions for Mr. Fudge?"

"I have none."

Once again, the chambers were cleared for the Wizengamot vote. Harry and his party were allowed out first, then the remaining guests. As it was approximately half eleven, Lord Ogden indicated they would reconvene no earlier than one to allow time for lunch before the start of the Dumbledore trial. Since Sirius was abstaining from the vote, he also joined Harry. Emily arranged a light lunch for the group. Severus moved over to a side table and brought out some marking to keep him busy, while the others chatted amicably. Gerald hadn't talked to Harry since he'd gone back to Hogwarts so he took the opportunity while he had it.

"So, Harry, apparently that basilisk was just as large as you said it was. The venom alone will make you a very rich young man and won't hurt Gringotts' till either."

"I kept telling everyone it was huge. So does anyone know how much money we're talking about?"

Severus heard that part of the conversation, "Mr. Potter, you have no idea how much that snake is worth?"

"No sir. I just know they're really rare."

"Did you notice the Goblins are selling the venom in cups?"

"Yes, sir. I thought that was really small too."

"Based on the small amount of venom currently available, one cup will probably bring in 1,000 galleons if not more."

Harry's eyes grew wide. The adults looked at his expression and all began to laugh heartily.

"Yes, Harry, between what you will get for the venom as well as the other items, you will probably double your net worth if not more," said Gerald.

"All that for a big snake?"

"Pup, that's more than just a big snake! Didn't Darmok tell you it was the first sighting in over 400 years? And who knows how long that thing has been living down there. I'll take you to the auction just so you can see for yourself. Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, Minerva, do you know where the room is that Dumbledore stored all of Harry's correspondence over the years?"

"No, but there are more than a few places in the castle I haven't visited in a long while."

"He said we could just ask for Pappy and he'd take us to it."

"Whenever you would like to see it, let me know and I'll have Pappy take us all there."

All too soon the lunch hour was over and they were escorted back into the courtroom. Once everyone had assembled, Lord Ogden called the meeting back to order. Fudge was escorted back into the courtroom where the verdict was read.

"Cornelius Oswald Fudge, we find you guilty of all charges and sentence you to thirteen years in minimum security in Azkaban prison. We order you to pay restitution in the amount of 60,000 galleons to Sirius Black and an additional 5,000 galleons to Rubeus Hagrid. We order the Ministry of Magic to pay restitution to Mr. Hagrid in the amount of 5,000 galleons. This sentence is to be carried out immediately."

Once Fudge was led from the room, Sirius asked to be heard.

"Lord Ogden, Acting Minister Bones, members of the Wizengamot. As Rubeus Hagrid was erroneously accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets resulting in the death of one student during his Hogwarts days and the petrification of others, I submit that his wand rights be returned to him immediately and he be reinstated as a wizard in good standing. I'm sure Headmistress McGonagall will see to his further education in its use."

Sirius' request was quickly seconded and a vote taken. The measure passed and Hagrid's wand rights were restored. There was a huge smile on Harry's face with that move as well as a small smile upon Minerva McGonagall's.


	53. The Trial of Albus Dumbledore

**A/N: I will go ahead and admit there is some duplication of the True Confessions chapter, however this includes the audience's reactions. I'd like to thank those who participated in the poll I had earlier on the sentence. I've also posted a new poll (I hope!) on Harry's Patronus form. Now, on with the show!**

53\. The Trial of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Lord Ogden then ordered the Aurors to bring in Albus Dumbledore. Again, Amelia led the prosecution. Once he was secured, she read the charges against him and asked him how he plead to them.

"I am sorry to say that I must plead guilty to them all," said Dumbledore.

There was a collective gasp throughout the room. The reporters in the press section were writing furiously. Once order was restored, Amelia continued.

"In order for the Wizengamot to understand the full extent of the charges against you and determine an appropriate sentence, we will continue the questioning under Veritaserum. Auror Shacklebolt, please administer the Veritaserum."

Kingsley walked over and administered the three drops of Veritaserum. After waiting the required minute, Amelia began her questioning. Dumbledore wasn't aware this was a special blend of Veritaserum created by Severus for those who were known or suspected to be immune to the normal potion. That finally dawned on Albus while his eyes turned glassy.

"Please state your full name."

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

"Mr. Dumbledore, to make this easier for all to follow, I will question you charge by charge. We'll begin with the charges regarding Harry James Potter. First we'll address the child endangerment charge. On the night of November 1st, 1981, did you leave Mr. Potter on the doorstep of one Petunia Dursley, muggle sister of Lily Evans Potter?"

"Yes."

"Did you ring the doorbell or knock to let them know that you were delivering their nephew to them?"

"No. I left a letter with the information about her sister's death and instructions for the care of the boy."

The first of many gasps ran through the audience.

"How was he wrapped?"

"Hagrid had wrapped him in a blanket that he found. I cast a warming charm on it."

"Do you know the approximate temperature that night?"

"No."

"According to the information I found, the low temperature that night was 35 degrees. Were you not concerned that the areas of the boy not covered by the blanket might suffer damage?"

"No. He was fine as he was."

"Did you make any provisions for someone coming by and taking him or him crawling away?"

"No. I did cast charms on the house so that no one branded with the Death Mark could enter."

The noise in the gallery crept up as each question was asked. Harry looked at Remus in alarm and mouthed 'he just dumped me there?'. Remus nodded sadly. Lord Ogden called for order again.

"What provisions did you make for the Dursleys to take Mr. Potter?"

"I told them that no one from the magical world would contact them until it came time for Harry to attend Hogwarts. I also told them that a stipend for his care would be set up in a Muggle bank and they would be notified of the amount and the account once it had been established."

"Where did the money for this account come from?"

"I took it from Harry's trust vault."

"Did you have permission to access that vault?"

"No."

"How were you able to gain access to his vault?"

"I found the key when I searched their home in Godric's Hollow after the event and appointed myself Harry's magical guardian. The goblins allowed me access with that. Once I set the account up, I had no further need to access the vault as the payment was automatic."

"Do you know how much was removed from Mr. Potter's vault?"

"The Dursleys were paid 1000 galleons each year on the anniversary of their accepting his care."

While there was whispering around the room, Harry just looked bored at that statement. He already knew about the payments. Still, it was one thing to know about it but another to hear Dumbledore confess to it.

"Speaking of his care, did you ever visit with him or the Dursleys after you placed Harry with them?"

"No, I promised them they would not be bothered by the magical world."

"How did you know if he was even alive after you placed him there?"

"I placed Arabella Figg in a neighboring house. She is a squib and, as such, is aware of the magical community. I also had monitoring charms on Harry."

"Did you receive regular reports from her?"

"Yes. At least once each month she would send an owl letting me know how Harry was doing. If something important happened, she would floo call me. I had set up a floo node in her home for emergencies."

"Please give the court a summary of her reports over the years?"

"She said she often saw Harry out in the garden weeding the flower beds, mowing the lawn or washing the car. Many times she would see him being chased by his cousin and some of his friends."

"Did she say if he ever appeared injured?"

"Yes. Several times. She reported seeing him limping quite severely once. When she asked Harry what happened he said he tripped on the stairs."

"Did she spend much time with Mr. Potter?"

"Yes. Whenever the Dursleys would go out of town or needed to be away for the day she would babysit him."

"And did she report these occasions to you?"

"Yes. Usually each time."

"Why?"

"She told me he appeared extremely small for his age. When he was smaller, she would help him bathe and she said he was quite undernourished. When he was with her, he rarely ate more than a few bites regardless of what she served him. She also reported seeing bruises all over his body many times. She said he never had any clothes of his own but always wore his cousin's cast-offs."

"Didn't these reports cause you concern?"

"Yes. However, I knew that Petunia had no love of magic and had a son of her own to take care of. I did not think she would deliberately harm her nephew."

Harry felt Minerva put a hand on his arm while Remus put one around his shoulders. Arthur also reached down and patted him on the back. Knowing about it and hearing Dumbledore admit it was a bit much for him to take in. He was trying to maintain a stoic front, but every now and then, a tear escaped.

"If you suspected there could be abuse or neglect, why didn't you personally check on him?"

"I did not believe this was abuse, just that he was not treated as well as their son and we all know children have certain quirks. I believed that a certain amount of humility would serve the child well when he returned to our world."

Augusta Longbottom had been exchanging glances with Sirius throughout this part of the testimony. While trying to maintain her poise, she was horrified at what she was hearing. Apparently Amelia knew more than she was letting on to preserve some semblance of dignity for the child. She would ensure the time she spent with him in the future would provide him with the tools he would need to lead an Ancient and Noble House.

"Why did you place Mr. Potter with the Dursleys instead of a magical family?"

"Petunia Dursley was the only remaining blood member of Harry's family. I felt that superseded all other options."

"Is that the only reason?"

"No. I believed that if Harry was brought up in a magical family, he would be spoiled and worshipped as The Boy Who Lived and not just Harry Potter. I also believed that keeping the knowledge of the magical world from him until he was ready to attend Hogwarts would be to his benefit."

"How so?"

"Harry has the potential to be a very powerful wizard. I've known too many of similar strength who have let this power go to their heads and, as a result, used their power for evil instead of good. We needed Harry to remain with the Light."

"Mr. Dumbledore, do you know whether the Potters left a will?"

"They did."

"Can you tell us what happened with it?"

"They left a will with their Gringotts account manager. I knew that until Harry requested it to be read, it would be sealed."

"And what of the will that was filed with the Ministry?"

"It was a fake that I fabricated and then sealed as was my right as the Chief Warlock."

There were shouts of 'That's absurd!', 'You didn't!' and 'That's stepping way over bounds!' and other similar comments coming not only from the gallery but also from members of the Wizengamot. Needless to say, any friends he thought he had were rapidly dwindling away.

"Were you aware of the Potters' wishes regarding who should care for Mr. Potter should something happen to them?"

"When Harry was born, I knew they had asked Sirius Black and Alice Longbottom to be his godparents. I believe Sirius had also suggested the Tonks as another alternative. Minerva had always said that if anything happened she would love to care for Harry as well."

"Did you know of their wishes regarding Petunia Dursley?"

"I knew they were estranged and she had no love for Petunia anymore."

"Let's move on to other areas. Did you place a bind on Mr. Potter's magic when he arrived at Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"When I scanned his magical core, it was even larger than I had first thought. I felt that if Voldemort's followers were aware of the power he possessed he would be in even greater danger. When the time was right, I would remove the bind and Harry would take his place with the great wizards of our time."

"You are aware that it takes time once a bind is removed for a wizard to adjust to their magical abilities?"

"Of course."

"Were you aware that the Potters had placed a bind on Mr. Potter's magic as an infant?"

"Yes. I instructed James on the proper way to place it. To my knowledge, it was due to release on his tenth birthday in order for his core to stabilize before he came to Hogwarts."

"How much did you restrict Mr. Potter's core?"

"He had use of sixty percent of his magical core."

Again gasps and mutterings were heard around the room. Binding a wizard's magic once they had come of Hogwarts age wasn't heard of! Even Snape scowled at this discussion.

"You said earlier you'd placed monitoring charms on Harry. Please describe them for the court and when they were placed."

"I placed an owl redirect so that any owl other than a Hogwarts owl would bring any mail to me. I placed a tracking charm so that I would be able to find him regardless of where he was. I also cast an aversion charm for anyone named Dursley."

"What was the intent of these three charms?"

"The owl redirection charm was so that the Dursleys would not be bombarded by owls day and night since they lived in a muggle neighborhood. I did adjust it after Harry arrived at Hogwarts and made friends with the Weasley boy and to account for his own owl. The tracking charm was mostly for his safety in case someone abducted him I would be able to find him. The aversion charm was so that he and the Dursleys would not have a favorable relationship."

"Did you expect the aversion charm could lead to abuse on the Dursleys' part?"

"I knew that was a possibility."

"Regarding the owl redirection, did you ever make Mr. Potter aware that he had mail that had accumulated over time?"

"Yes."

"When was this?"

"Two weeks ago when I met with him, Sirius Black and yourself."

"My final question regarding Mr. Potter and his family is whether you placed any charms on the house specifically as well as the Dursleys individually?"

"Yes."

"Please tell us when they were placed and who they were placed on."

"The night I left Harry with them, I cast an owl redirection charm as well to ensure the owls would stay away from them. I also cast one that would repel anyone with the Dark Mark. Then I cast one to repel anyone with ill intent towards anyone living in the house. Finally I cast anti-apparition and anti-portkey charms on the house so no magical person could come upon them unexpectedly. A year after I left Harry there, I cast compulsion and aversion charms on the Dursleys against anyone named Potter. I also cast an anger charm on the adult male Dursley which would make him overreact to any situation that elicited anger."

"Were you worried that the combination of these charms could result in severe injury or possibly death to Mr. Potter?"

"I trusted Arabella to let me know if anything got out of hand."

"You said you promised the Dursleys they would not be visited by anyone from the magical community if they took Mr. Potter. How were you able to cast the later charms on the Dursleys?"

"Arabella told me they were going to visit Hyde Park and were leaving Harry with her. I disillusioned myself and cast them then."

"And you aware that it is against the law to place any charms on a muggle?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do this?"

"It was for the greater good. It ensured Harry would be a humble boy when he arrived at Hogwarts and would readily accept my guidance."

"Once he began at Hogwarts, was there any reason for him to go back to the Dursleys each summer? Could he not have stayed with friends such as the Weasleys?"

"No. However, to maintain the illusion for the Dursleys that they were protected by ancient magics by taking him in, Harry had to go back for a time each summer."

If there weren't wards suppressing accidental magic on the chamber, quite a few things would have blown up by that point. The people surrounding Harry were all talking to him and trying to get his attention in order for him to calm down. Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a vial, handing it to Remus with a curt 'calming draught'. Remus got Harry to drink half of it and soon he settled back down. The representatives of the press were again writing furiously describing the scene in the chamber. If it weren't for the fact that photography was forbidden in there, there was no doubt there would have been pictures of a very angry Harry Potter on the front pages of all the wizarding presses as well as descriptions on the WWN.

"I believe we have covered the items regarding Mr. Potter so let us turn to the events regarding Sirius Black. Did you direct that Lord Black be sent directly to Azkaban after he was captured?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I believed at the time that he had committed the crimes he was accused of and it would be best to move him out of the Ministry holding area for security's sake."

"Did you discuss your decision with Bartemius Crouch, Senior and Cornelius Fudge?"

"I told Barty that it would be in the Ministry's best interest to move him out immediately to avoid an attempt by Voldemort's followers to rescue him."

"Did you believe Lord Black was a follower of You Know Who?"

"I did not want to believe it, but the evidence was overwhelming. I knew there were other Death Eaters who would be captured and we could use the space in the Ministry for them."

"How were you able to convince Mr. Crouch and Mr. Fudge to cooperate?"

"I cast a mild compulsion charm on them. Once the paperwork was signed and Sirius was moved to Azkaban I removed it."

That statement got another round of muttering going around the room. Lord Ogden quickly brought the room back to order.

"Once things had settled down, did you make any attempt to ensure Lord Black was given a trial?"

"No."

"Why?"

"By then I had Harry settled at the Dursleys. I knew that if Sirius was found innocent of the charges for some reason, he would immediately want custody of Harry and that just wouldn't do. I needed Harry to remain with the Dursleys."

Of course now Sirius was the one needing the calming drought, but he had better control of his outward emotions to not let it show quite as much as Harry.

"Do you regret not having a trial for Lord Black after what you now know?"

"No. There are some things that must be sacrificed for the greater good and this was one of them."

If there weren't charms to protect the defendant, many of the purebloods in the chamber would have hexed Albus then and there. They were surprised that charges of attempted line theft had not been included as sending Sirius to Azkaban for life would have effectively ended that branch of the Black line.

"Let us turn to your actions while Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Did you place charms on Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and Poppy Pomfrey?"

"Yes."

"Please describe each of them and when and why they were placed."

"I placed a compulsion charm on Minerva shortly after we placed Harry with the Dursleys. She disagreed with my leaving Harry with them. I needed her cooperation to ensure he remained where he was and for her to not question my actions. I placed an aversion charm on Severus when he was a second year. He was much too close to Lily Evans and it wouldn't do for Gryffindors and Slytherins to be seen together. I knew that James Potter had taken an instant liking to her so it made sense to do that in order to break up their relationship. Once they graduated, I saw no reason to remove it. When Severus began teaching at Hogwarts, it was even more important to keep that charm so that when Harry arrived, he would continue the grudge. As for Poppy, I knew that she normally gave students an extended health scan when students first come to the hospital wing. I had her ignore any signs of abuse first on Severus and then again on Harry. These were necessary circumstances."

Both Minerva and Severus were ready to beat the old man senseless but you wouldn't know it by looking at their faces. Minerva did her Scottish heritage proud while Severus had so much experience keeping an unexpressive face. Severus had reinforced his Occlumency shields to help keep his emotions in check.

"Finally, I'd like to look at events of the past two years. Did you bring the Flamel's Philosopher's Stone to Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"For what purpose?"

"I had an indication that Voldemort's spirit had inhabited a body and was trying to return fully. By placing the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts, I was hoping to lure him to it and capture him once and for all."

"Did you take any precautions to ensure its safety?"

"Yes. I had several of the professors build traps to protect it."

"Did you also warn the entire student body on the first night to stay away from the corridor that housed the Stone?"

"Yes."

"Did you not think that would encourage students to investigate further?"

"Of course; especially students like the Weasley twins. I was sure once the word got out that the reason it was off limits was because there was a Cerberus living there, the curiosity would go away."

"Were you aware your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was possessed by the spirit of You Know Who?"

"I suspected as such. He had taken a sabbatical in Albania to further study the Dark Arts the previous year. I was aware of the possibility that Voldemort's spirit was also in that area. When Quirinus returned permanently wearing a turban and had begun to stutter, I suspected that he had possibly been possessed. I was not able to confirm it until after Harry had confronted him."

"So a first year student was able to get through all of your protections?"

"Actually there were three of them, Harry and his friends Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley."

"But you saw no problem setting the trap for You Know Who in a school full of children."

"There was no danger to them. The stone was well protected as I said."

"How was You Know Who finally identified and what happened to him?"

"I cannot say for certain as to how he was defeated, I can only go by what Harry told me after I got there."

"You were unaware three first year students had gone after the stone?"

"No. I had been summoned to the Ministry unexpectedly."

"And was there an urgent need here?"

"No. As soon as I realized it was a diversion, I immediately returned to Hogwarts. I was immediately accosted by Minerva and the other two children and told that Harry had gone after the stone. Once I made it through to the final chamber, I found Harry unconscious. He told me that Quirrell had unwrapped his turban and the face of Voldemort was sticking out the back of his head. When Quirrell tried to touch Harry, it burned his hands."

"And was Mr. Potter successful in removing the Stone and keeping it from You Know Who?"

"Yes. He held on to Quirinus until he perished and Voldemort's spirit was evicted from his body."

"And of Mr. Potter's condition?"

"He suffered a severe case of magical exhaustion, but nothing else."

The whole chamber shuddered at the casualness Dumbledore spoke of Harry's condition, especially with the knowledge that his magic had been bound.

"Let's discuss the events of last term. Can you tell us what happened on Halloween last?"

"We held our usual Halloween feast in the Great Hall. Nearly Headless Nick was also holding his Death Day celebration in one of the dungeons. As the feast broke up, I was made aware of a situation in one of the halls. Someone had written on the wall 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware.' Mr. Filch's cat was seen hanging from a torch bracket. She had been petrified."

"Were you concerned at this time?"

"No. There had been much speculation over the years about a fabled Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin's monster, but after many exhausting searches over hundreds of years, nothing had been found. I felt someone was playing a large prank, although I did not know at the time as everyone had been at the feast with the exception of Harry and his two friends. Nick and several other ghosts attested to their presence at Nick's party."

"Was that the only instance?"

"No. Over time, four other students and a ghost were also petrified."

In the back of his mind, Albus was wondering how she knew all of these details, but the Veritaserum overcame any ideas of challenging or evading the questions.

"Did you report these events to the Ministry?"

"Yes. I spoke to Cornelius concerning the last of the instances. As he was at Hogwarts the last time, he knew that Hagrid had been implicated. He said he was coming to Hogwarts and was going to take Hagrid into protective custody until the mystery of the petrifications could be solved."

"What about the Board of Governors?"

"I had not had time to do so, however, apparently Lucius Malfoy's son did and he arrived shortly after Minister Fudge with an order for my suspension."

"Did you notify the parents of those who had been petrified?"

"No. All of the students who had been petrified were muggleborn and I saw no reason to panic their parents. They would be fine by the time to return home for the summer holidays."

The chamber turned into total chaos at how casually he made this statement. It could have been one of their family members petrified.

"Were you there when the mystery was solved?"

"I arrived back shortly before Harry returned with the Weasley girl, young Mr. Weasley and Gilderoy Lockhart."

"And what was the final resolution?"

"Ginevra Weasley had been possessed by an artifact of Voldemort and had been the one who had written the words on the wall. The monster inhabiting the Chamber was revealed to be a basilisk. Harry had slain the beast and revived Miss Weasley."

All throughout the chamber it suddenly clicked in everyone's mind that the basilisk in the Chamber was the same one the Goblins were offering up for auction next month. Most had a new respect for Harry Potter.

"And the other students who had been petrified?"

"Professor Sprout had been growing a crop of mandrakes and once they had matured, we were able to brew the mandrake potion and revive them all. No student suffered permanent harm."

"Were any of these students seen by a mind healer after their ordeal?"

"No. As they had been in a state of suspended animation, there was no reason to do so."

"Once students began to get petrified, did you think to close the school until the source could be located?"

"I did not see a need. We were getting close to the end of year and we had a cure for those who had been petrified. The school would be empty and we would have ample time to search the castle again."

"Knowing what you know now about the Chamber, do you think you would have been able to discover what the monster was and where it was hiding?"

"Alas, no. It requires someone who speaks Parseltongue to gain entrance to the Chamber."

"Have you had a chance since then to go down into the Chamber?"

"Yes. I have also seen the slain basilisk as confirmation."

Amelia then rested the case against Albus Dumbledore and directed Shacklebolt to administer the antidote. Since he was not represented by counsel, she afforded him the opportunity to make a statement to the court which he politely declined. She then went through the list of victims who were present and offered them a chance to speak to the court. Minerva, Severus and Sirius all declined. When it came to Harry, he took a deep breath and rose.

"Albus Dumbledore, I once thought you were the greatest wizard alive. You were kind to me and encouraged me to become the wizard I was supposed to have been. I should have known when I asked you after first year if I could stay at the castle over the summer that there was a whole lot more that you weren't telling me. I even asked you why Voldemort kept trying to kill me and you refused to answer me saying I was too young to understand. You made me live with people who despised me and everything I was. You looked the other way when they treated me worse than a house elf and my cousin thought I was his private punching bag around. All I ever wanted was to be a normal kid in a normal family. You had the responsibility to see that Sirius was given a fair trial. Had you done that, I would have had my godfather to take care of me as well as another of my parents' best friends to tell me stories about them. I would have known about my responsibilities as the Heir to an Ancient and Noble House. I would have hopefully had friends. Because of you, I had none of that. As much as I would like to get angry with you because of all that I lost, I can't. All I can do is pity you and whatever it was that turned you into a bitter old man who got his greatest pleasure by interfering with the lives of everyone around him. Whatever punishment the Wizengamot gives you can never make up for what those of us you have wronged have had to live with and through."

With those words, Harry sat down. Once again he felt the touches of those who truly cared about him as he fought through the tears that finally came.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I ask that you accept Albus Dumbledore's guilty plea. As punishment for these many crimes, I ask that you strip him of his magic and sentence him to spend the remainder of his days in Azkaban prison. Were it not for his extensive knowledge of magic and his advanced age, I would have requested we remand him to the Muggle authorities as we do with most all squibs."

Lord Ogden rose from his seat, visibly affected by the testimony he had just heard. He had Harry's party escorted out, then he cleared the chamber for the deliberation and vote.

In the antechamber, Harry finally let all of the hurt and anguish that had been pent up inside him for so many years out. Remus held him as he had the young infant Harry, giving him assurances that everything really would be fine now. Minerva rested a hand on his back, rubbing it comfortingly, hoping to soothe the hurt the boy felt. The others in the room gathered around the tea service that had appeared, giving them a bit of privacy. It took a while for Harry to finally calm down, his sobs turning into hiccups turning into soft breaths of sleep. Remus let him stay like that for another ten minutes before he gently shook the young man awake.

"Harry, I know you want to rest and I'd love to let you do it, but you need to wake up now. Why don't you go freshen up then have some tea? We don't know when they will return with a sentence."

Harry grudgingly got up and went into the loo off the chamber. After taking a few deep breaths and splashing water over his face, he felt a bit better. He straightened his shoulders and rejoined the group, gratefully taking the cup of tea Remus pressed into his hands as well as a chocolate biscuit Minerva gave him.

Arthur was the first to speak to him, "Better, Harry?"

"Yeah, thanks Mr. Weasley."

"Do you require another calming draught, Mr. Potter?"

"No. Thanks, Professor Snape, for the one earlier. I'd have hated to have blown up the courtroom," Harry said with a strained chuckle.

"I'm sure everyone appreciates your restraint."

After another ten minutes, Emily came and ushered them back into the courtroom. Harry looked up at Sirius who gave him a questioning look. Harry nodded his head to let him know he was okay. Once everyone had returned to the courtroom, Lord Ogden called the court back into session then had Dumbledore brought back into the room. Once he had been secured, Lord Ogden proceeded to read the sentence.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, having plead guilty to all charges against you, we, the members of the Wizengamot, sentence you to be stripped of your magic and confined to Azkaban prison for the remainder of your natural life. We order that your worldly possession be divided as such: Five percent each to Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey and Severus Snape; fifteen percent to Sirius Black; twenty percent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the remaining fifty percent to Harry Potter. Your abuse of power, regardless of your reasons, puts you in the company of wizards such as He Who Must Not Be Named and Grindelwald. May you suffer as you have made these people, and others, suffer. Court is adjourned."

As expected, pandemonium broke out among the gallery as well as the press corps. The Aurors surrounded Dumbledore and took him out to the Ministry holding cells. Emily came over and escorted Harry and his party to Amelia's office. Sirius joined them as they departed. The press members were clamoring for statements while members of the gallery were shouting to them 'We're behind you Harry!', 'We'll adopt you Harry!', 'Senile old coot!', 'Dementor's Kiss is too good for him' and other more colorful statements. Once in the Minister's office, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Minerva and Severus quickly took their leave and used the Minister's private floo to return to Hogwarts. Remus was staying the weekend with Sirius and Harry. Arthur then left, but not before extending an offer for dinner at the Burrow. Amelia arrived just then. She thanked them all for their help, then sent them on through the floo to rest and recover from the day.

The three floo'd to Potter Hall where, as usual, Harry had an arm full of Dobby.

"Harry! You be OK? Do you need Dobby to make you some hot chocolate? I have extra marshmallows."

"No, thanks, Dobby. But some tea would be good."

Dobby snapped his fingers and a tea service popped in to view with biscuits and a slice of the treacle tart from last night. Dobby knew how to spoil his master. The three wizards sat down and drank their tea in silence, contemplating the events of the day.

OoOoOoOoOo

Now that all of the trials, except for Lucius Malfoy's, were over, Amelia could focus on other, more pressing Ministry activities. She had developed a priority list of things she needed to do, one of which was to appoint someone to become the Director of International Magical Cooperation. They would need to make a decision quickly on whether or not to have the TriWizard Tournament next year. Personally, she was in favor of cancelling it.

There was just one more thing she had to do - witness stripping Albus Dumbledore of his magic. She'd heard of it being done before, but had never seen it. An Unspeakable would actually perform the spell. Dumbledore requested a few minutes with her before the sentence was carried out.

"Yes, Albus, what do you want?"

"If I could have a quill and parchment, I have a few other things I need to let Harry know about. You will give him my wand, won't you?"

"Yes, I will. Is there anything else you need for me to do?"

"No."

She had the jailer get the requested items and bring them to the cell. The jailer stayed with him while he wrote whatever it was he needed to write. This wasn't an unheard of activity at all. Many people who had been sentenced to Azkaban requested the same to write out their will if it hadn't already been done. It took Albus about twenty minutes to complete his missive before nodding to the jailer that he was done. The jailer then escorted him to the larger conference room. Besides Amelia, Rufus Scrimgeour was there representing the DMLE and Tiberius Ogden was there representing the Wizengamot as they were the ones pronouncing the sentence. There was also a healer present just as a precaution. Albus handed his letter to Amelia.

The Unspeakable stepped forward.

"Are we ready to proceed?" seeing nods all around, he began the task.

"Please remove the magic suppressing bracelets." The jailer stepped forward and released the bracelets on both of Dumbledore's wrists.

Seeing everything complete, he began waving his wand and chanting, _"_ _Auferent omnes offensiones_ _magicae_ _ex hoc_ _veneficus_ _anima_ _._ _Magicis_ _mortalibus,_ _aeternum_ _erit._ _"*_ When the last word was spoken, Albus Dumbledore fell to the floor, dead.

 ***A/N: According to Google translations, this is supposed to mean:** ** _Remove all magic from this wizard's soul. From magic to mortal for all eternity shall it be_** **.**


	54. Aftermath

**A/N: Thanks for all of the votes so far on the** ** _Patronus_** **form. I've had a couple of suggestions I'd not heard of before, so I'm taking that one into consideration as well. Also, I've fixed the error in the storyline where I said Harry was not in the Black bloodline since his grandmother, Dorea Potter, was a Black.  
**

54\. Aftermath

The headlines in the _Daily Prophet_ were huge the next day:

 _ALBUS DUMBLEDORE DEAD!_

 _CONVICTED, ORDERED STRIPPED OF HIS MAGIC._

 _LIFE SENTENCE IN AZKABAN, PAY RESTITUTION!_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, was placed on trial yesterday for various offences committed over a period of years. Mr. Dumbledore was ordered to be stripped of his magic and sent to Azkaban for the remainder of his life as well as paying restitution for his misdeeds. A ministry spokeswizard stated that after Mr. Dumbledore was stripped of his magic, he expired as a result of his advanced age. He was 112 years old._ *****

 _Mr. Dumbledore surprised everyone by pleading guilty to all charges before the full Wizengamot court (A full list of charges can be found on page 2). The charges against him in his conduct of the affairs of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, were long and extremely serious. These charges include binding the young wizard's magic after he arrived at Hogwarts, placing other charms on him, stealing from his inheritance and leaving him in an abusive and neglectful situation during his formative years._

 _Additional charges against him for his conduct at Hogwarts included two instances of putting the entire student body, professors and staff into extreme danger. In one instance he lured the spirit of He Who Must Not Be Named into the school by placing Nicholas and Perenell Flamel's famous Philosopher's Stone in the castle. In the other, he allowed a basilisk to roam freely throughout the castle resulting in the petrification of four students, one ghost and one cat. From the testimony presented, Harry Potter was responsible for defeating both the spirit of He Who Must Not Be Named and the basilisk. We assume that the basilisk parts currently up for auction by Gringotts are from the very same basilisk._

 _Mr. Dumbledore also plead guilty to placing illegal charms on three members of the Hogwarts staff as well as Mr. Potter's Muggle guardians. He also plead guilty to his role in the illegal incarceration of Lord Sirius Black._

 _Attempts to contact all parties for statements were unsuccessful. Gerald Howe, solicitor for both Lord Sirius Black and Harry Potter, said that his clients have not decided on whether they will offer a statement or not. Mr. Potter's statement to the court was quite moving and heartfelt and can be found elsewhere on this page. Related stories are included throughout today's Daily Prophet._

Hermione read the headlines with sadness for what could have been for many of the people affected by Dumbledore's actions. Professor McGonagall had announced the former Headmaster's death at dinner last night. She was aware of many of the charges against the former Headmaster, but when laid out as the _Prophet_ had, it was a bit overwhelming. She then came upon the statement made by Harry to the court. As she read it, tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She looked over at Ron, but he was too busy eating to have noticed what was going on but Ginny had.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" she asked.

"Poor Harry. I know he told us about the Dursleys this summer, but when you put that along with all of the things they say Professor Dumbledore did as well, it's amazing he's such a kind and gentle soul."

"I know. I think Dad went to the trial as well. I saw Errol come in and drop something off with Percy, but I don't know if it's related to what happened yesterday or not."

Neville added to the conversation, "I got a letter from Gran. She was horrified with the way Harry's been treated. She told me if she ever heard I was mean to him; she'd shut down my greenhouses. I think she really means it too."

Hermione asked, "Has anyone heard from Harry today?"

"I didn't see Hedwig this morning, so evidently not," replied Ginny.

Professor McGonagall stood up and tapped her glass, "Attention students. Those of you who are scheduled for Defense Against the Dark Arts today will have a study period instead. Professor Lupin has been detained by other business. Those of you who are scheduled Monday and Tuesday have already been provided with the topic for those classes. Any issues pertaining to Gryffindor will be referred to me in the meantime. I don't expect there to be any," she looked pointedly at the Gryffindor table and specifically at the twins. "I'm sure many of you have questions about yesterday's events. Please refer those question to your Heads of House or myself. I'm quite aware of how the gossip mill in this school operates and it will do no one good for it to get out of hand. Enjoy your Friday." What she had not revealed to the anyone yet was that a new portrait had joined the other former headmasters in her office.

The students took that statement as their dismissal and headed off to their first class of the day.

OoOoOoOoOo

The occupants of Black Hall took their time getting up. It had been an emotion-filled evening for them all. They had returned from Potter Hall after finishing their tea. Harry and Sirius had gone to change before gathering in the sitting room. The three still had a numb feeling and were all lost in their thoughts. They were surprised when Kreacher announced that dinner was ready. Once they finished, they'd spent the rest of the evening discussing the day's events with James and Lily. Harry had once again fallen asleep while they were talking and Remus had taken him upstairs to bed.

Sirius, with Remus' approval, had set an owl redirect for all of his mail to go to Potter Hall with the exception of correspondence from Harry, Remus, Gerald and Gringotts. He was reading the paper when Dobby popped in with a huge pile of mail. He'd already gotten an owl from Gerald wanting to set up a press conference for both Harry and himself to dispel any rumors flying around. Dobby told them he'd had to destroy about a half dozen howlers. Apparently the owls with mail for Harry had also taken their bounty to Potter Hall as well. Dobby suggested they might want him to take the mail to another room first. That's when they realized Dobby had shrunk the mail into a more manageable size. Sirius had Dobby take it into the library and they would deal with it there. However, there was one letter he gave directly to Sirius. It was from the Interim Minister for Magic.

"Amelia would like us to come to the Ministry today, pup. She's got a final letter from Albus for you as well as his wand. She asked if we could come by about eleven this morning. I'll send a message to her that we'll be there. I think Gerald is right, though. We probably should hold a press conference. I know you had your say yesterday, but I know there are still a lot of questions."

"Why can't they leave us alone now and let us be a normal family?" he fumed.

"Harry," said Remus, "when are you going to understand there is nothing normal about you?"

"I know it isn't fun, but if we get it over with, we can have the rest of the weekend free, well, after you've finished your homework."

Harry gave Sirius a glare.

"Don't look at me like that! You're still in school and you still have homework."

"I know I've already given you your assignment for next week when I'm out because of the full moon. Luckily, Minerva is just assigning a study period for today's classes."

"OK. I guess it's got to be done. But can we go to Potter Manor later so I can fly?"

Both men knew that was Harry's way of blowing off steam and relaxing.

"Sure, I might even join you," said Sirius.

Sirius sent an owl back to Gerald and asked him to set up a time and place and they would give one, and only one, press conference. After that, they were done for a very long time. The three went into the library where Sirius waved his wand and the pile of mail divided itself into two piles; one for Sirius and one for Harry. Harry's was by far the largest of the group as Sirius had received the bulk of his once he'd been acquitted. Remus showed Harry the spell to open the letters in bulk so he could save time. He sat down with Harry to help him go through his stack. They quickly developed a system for categorizing the letters: those that required a reply, those that just offered their support, those that Gerald might need to look at for they were offers of different sorts, and those that should be binned. Once Sirius had gone through his stack, he also helped Harry out. When they were all finished, they sat back with a sigh. Gerald's owl returned with a suggested time of nine the next morning, giving them a day to relax. Sirius sent it back with an OK.

Just before eleven, the party made their way to the Minister for Magic's office. Emily was expecting them and showed them in as soon as they arrived.

"Good to see you all again. I'm sure you were as surprised as I was about the final end of Albus," said Amelia.

"I assume that without his magic, his body wasn't able to maintain itself," said Sirius.

"That is what everyone else has said."

"What about his body?" asked Harry.

"We've been in contact with his brother, Aberforth. I believe he plans to have him buried quietly in the family plot in Godric's Hollow."

Harry remembered seeing the Dumbledore plot when they'd visited his parents last month. Still, would that be a safe place to bury the man?

"Well, I'm sure you all have better things to do so let me make this short. Harry, here is the wand that Albus wanted you to have." She reached into her desk and picked up the wand and handed it to Harry. When Harry touched it, he felt a warm sensation flood through his body even more intense than that when he'd put on the Potter Heir ring. A fountain of sparks of all different colors shot out of the end.

"Wow! That's even more than my wand when I first got it at Ollivander's."

"That is quite unusual for two wands to be so compatible with a wizard, Harry," said Remus.

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Well, when have I ever been normal?" The three adults laughed.

Amelia handed him the letter from Dumbledore and they took their leave.

After lunch they proceeded to Potter Manor. Harry had his broom while the other two would get one of the brooms there. Sirius told him he'd let him fly for two hours if he did two hours' worth of homework satisfactorily. Harry rolled his eyes at him and suddenly found his eyeballs rolling around and around in his head.

"Sirius! Stop it!"

"What did I tell you about rolling your eyes at me young man? Don't think I didn't see you at the Ministry this morning either."

"Ok! I get it! Now make it stop unless you want me to toss my lunch up so soon."

After their flying, the three settled into the library. Harry pulled out the letter from Dumbledore to read.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Once again, I must apologize for the damage I have done to you in your life. While I knew that Petunia might not welcome you into her home as she would her own child, I never imagined she would be such a hateful woman. I owe Sirius a similar apology as well. Despite my meddling, the two of you are now together as it should have been and I am confident you will be good for each other._

 _I know that sending you on the hunt for the various artifacts without any further guidance will be difficult but I believe you all are up to the task. The more you are able to find, the less likely it will be for Voldemort to return. You are an amazing young man with a bright future; one you should be able to enjoy without the threat of a dark wizard hanging over you or a meddling old man. I trust that you will do what you must to ensure the eventual end._

 _Trust yourself, Harry. When the time is right, remember that while things may be at their worst, happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light._

 _Your humble servant,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

OoOoOoOoOo

Gerald's office was a hub of activity. Between owls from his regular clients and owls regarding Sirius and Harry, he spent his whole day fighting fires. He was relieved when he got the owl from Sirius agreeing to the press conference, now he just had to find a location large enough to host it. There was an unoccupied building that Harry had inherited from someone along the way at 93 Diagon Alley that would probably work, but he'd need to get it cleaned up. It was just down the street from his office so he took a quick walk over. He'd gotten the key from the Goblins when he'd become Harry's solicitor. It would do quite well for what they needed with just a bit of work. Well, Sirius had said to call Dobby if he needed some assistance or needed to contact him quickly.

OoOoOoOoOo

At the offices of the International Confederation of Wizards, the news of their Supreme Mugwump's guilt and death spread like wildfire throughout the member countries. The current deputy was from Australia, so it took a while to get correspondence between the headquarters and Olivia Whetstone. While the meeting was still a bit over two weeks away, she knew she would need to rearrange her travel plans to arrive a few days early to try to make sense of the items on the agenda as well as any other issues pending before the ICW. She knew England would be briefing about the next Quidditch World Cup and had expected a discussion about the possibility of reviving the TriWizard Tournament. That had been something Dumbledore had been forcing through. Without his sponsorship, its likelihood of survival was slim.

OoOoOoOoOo

Igor Karkaroff read the article about Dumbledore with great interest. So the old man had some bollocks after all. He wasn't as pure as he tried to make everyone believe. Well, he'd always thought there was something more to the story of him and Grindelwald that wasn't being told as well. The Bulgarian Ministry had told him that they were hesitant to agree to Durmstrang's competition in the TriWizard Tournament. Plus, he hadn't been looking forward to running into Severus Snape or Mad-Eye Moody any time soon. With Lucius Malfoy currently in prison, and possibly for quite a while longer, most of the so-called friends he'd had from the previous war were no longer "available." Well, he'd have to tell Viktor to concentrate on Quidditch and forget preparing for the tournament.

OoOoOoOoOo

In France, Olympe Maxime was thinking similar thoughts. She'd already been talking regularly to the director of the French Office of International Magical Cooperation since Dumbledore's arrest and knew that France no longer supported the Tournament. It was idiotic anyway to remove so many students from their last year of education all for one of them to participate. It had already been decided to send a representative contingent who would remain at the school for the duration. They just hadn't decided whether to request their admittance into the similar classes at Hogwarts or to have Beauxbatons professors rotate through and teach them in increments. This made it much easier on them all to not have to disrupt their normal school year.

OoOoOoOoOo

In the wilds of Albania, all hope for his followers to find him was almost lost. If he couldn't find an appropriate host soon, he wouldn't be strong enough to possess them. There had been several severe shocks to his spirit over the past few months. They couldn't have discovered his secret, could they?

OoOoOoOoOo

Saturday morning the trio found themselves in Gerald's office. He'd asked them to meet him there rather than at the site of the press conference. That would give them a bit of time to go over anything that might come up. Sirius was pretty sure most all of the questions would be directed to Harry as most of the questions regarding his false imprisonment had been hashed and rehashed already.

"The place we're going to is actually one of your properties, Harry. I hope you don't mind I asked Dobby to clean it for you."

"No. He doesn't have much work to keep him busy, so I'm sure he was more than happy to help. I hope you checked it after he finished, though. He's been known to go a bit crazy at times."

"This will also give you a chance to look at it too. This would make a good location for a business. It has space for living above it as well."

"Well, I know a business possibility, but it's still two years away," Harry said slyly.

"Don't tell me you're already thinking of putting the twins in there, pup!" said Sirius.

"You know they'll do great!"

"Twins?" asked Gerald.

"Arthur Weasley's twin boys Fred and George. Their goal in life is to open a joke shop. From what I hear, they're good enough to make it work. I've already talked to them about it, but I've warned them they'd have to get enough OWLs and NEWTs before I'd underwrite it," said Sirius.

Gerald led them in a roundabout way so they could enter from the rear and avoid the crowd he'd heard was forming. Apparently all of the media people who'd been at the trial, even the foreign press, had planned to attend. Dobby had done a great job on the place. It was clean and well lit. He'd put a small stage up front with comfortable chairs for them to sit while the audience area was strictly standing room; hoping that by making them stand, they would keep their questions short.

Gerald led them onto the stage, then stepped up front. The crowd quieted immediately.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. Lord Black and Mr. Potter have agreed to answer your questions, however, this is not a free for all. If they do not desire to answer a particular question, restating it three different times to try and trip them into answering will only get you removed from the building."

At that comment, Harry looked off to the side and saw a pair of tennis ball sized eyes peeking out from the corner next to Remus. So if Gerald didn't like the way someone was behaving, he was going to have Dobby "eject" them. Wicked!

"So as to avoid the usual pushing and shoving to ask the first question, I'll begin with Miss Skeeter."

"Harry, how do you feel about Albus Dumbledore's betrayal of you?"

"Well, I think I answered that yesterday. I'll never understand how he could treat a kid like that, even if it was for his so-called 'greater good'."

"Mr. Potter, can you tell us what happened to your relatives?" asked Madam Abbott.

Gerald fielded that question, "They were referred to the Muggle authorities and have been appropriately tried and punished."

Xeno Lovegood was next, "Can you tell us more about the basilisk? Is that the one the Goblins are auctioning off?"

"Yes, it's the same one," said Harry, "what would you like to know?"

"How did you manage to slay it given that it had been petrifying students and a basilisk's glare is known to kill."

"Fawkes, Professor Dumble…, er the phoenix managed to scratch its eyes out. He also brought me something that I used to retrieve a sword. I got lucky and managed to shove the sword up through its head."

"Mr. Potter, was that a special sword or something lying about the castle?" asked another person.

Sirius jumped in, "It was a particular sword, however, we have agreed to keep its identity secret."

Another wizard asked, "We heard it was the Sword of Gryffindor. Can you confirm this?"

So much for secrecy. Harry looked at Sirius, who nodded, then said, "Yes, it was the Sword of Gryffindor."

A gasp went through those assembled. Even outside of England, the Sword of Gryffindor was legend.

"Do you still have the sword, Mr. Potter?"

"No, I returned it to the Headmaster. It belongs to Hogwarts."

"Mr. Potter, at the trial, it said your magic had been bound. Have you had it released and when?" asked a witch with an American accent.

"Yes, it was released in August."

""What about the charms placed on you? Did you ever think something wasn't quite right?"

"I always wondered what I did to make my aunt and uncle hate me. I thought it was just because I was different. Then when I learned I was a wizard, they hated me even more. Now I don't know whether that was true hatred or the result of Dumbledore's interference."

"Have you spoken to your relatives since you discovered all of this?"

"No."

"Do you plan to?"

Sirius interrupted, "I think that's enough questions about Harry's relatives."

"Lord Black, how do you feel about all of the events regarding Dumbledore's treatment of both yourself and your godson?"

Sirius had to think for a few moments, even though he had anticipated a question such as that to be asked, "I have so many emotions regarding all that has happened that it's difficult to pin it down. I am angry with Dumbledore for keeping me from Harry and for placing him in a situation where he wasn't cared for, much less loved. If it had just been me being thrown into Azkaban and forgotten, I think I could accept it. I will never forgive him for what he has done to Harry. I will do everything in my power to help him heal from his losses. While it does neither of us any good to dwell on the past, we must understand it as we look to the future."

"Is it true that you've been named to the Hogwarts Board of Governors?"

"Yes. I look forward to adding my contributions to that august body."

"Mr. Potter, what do you plan to do with the proceeds from the basilisk?"

"I don't know completely at the moment. There are several possibilities. My parents set up a fund to help muggleborn witches and wizards attend Hogwarts. I'd like to donate some of it to that fund. I'd really like to see a school set up for them as soon as they are identified. There's so much to learn about the magical world that being thrown in it when you're eleven just isn't right, especially when everyone else knows all of the ins and outs about it. I'll be working with Sirius, Remus and Mr. Howe on the best way to make use of the money."

"What do you think your parents would say about all that has happened to you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry wanted to laugh at that question. He knew exactly how his parents felt and was sure Dumbledore would be glad his mother couldn't have gotten her wand on him first.

"I think they'd be disappointed. They trusted Dumbledore. He helped with the _Fidelius Charm_ to protect them."

"What are your plans for the future, Mr. Potter?"

"I just want to be a normal Hogwarts student. Well, and play some Quidditch."

That got a laugh from everyone there.

"And what about you, Lord Black?"

"As I said after I was acquitted, my first priority is Harry. I want to make sure he is properly taken care of and he has the guidance he needs to succeed in our world. Oh, and I want to make sure he plays a few pranks along the way. I have responsibilities to the members of my House, the Wizengamot and now, Hogwarts. I think that will keep me quite busy for now."

Sirius sent a nod to Gerald to wrap it up.

"I believe that is enough for today. Any other specific questions that you may have may be sent in care of my office. Good day."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Now that that's over with, pup, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" asked Sirius once they were back in Gerald's office.

"You said I could decorate my room the way I wanted to?"

"Of course."

"Can we go look at stuff? I know Kreacher did his best, but I think I'd like a few other things."

"Sure! Magical or Muggle?"

"I don't know exactly what the magical world has. I know a few things I think I might like."

"Well, we can go over to Fabulous Furnishings to start with. I don't know about Muggle things."

"We can go back to that store the Grangers took us to," said Remus, "but I think you'll find most everything you want here in Diagon Alley."

Fabulous Furnishings was across from the Magical Menagerie. Harry hadn't paid much notice to it before as it was one of those things he hadn't had any use for. When he walked in, he opened his mouth in awe. Anything someone would want for a house was there. It even had house additions that could be designed and furnished then brought out to your property and set up with just a few steps. Sirius guided him over to the general home furnishings section. Harry started with bed furnishings. He looked through the comforters first. Trying to keep with his blue and yellow theme, he found one that was blue with a yellow sun that followed the day, rising in the morning and setting in the evening. At night it showed the moon phases and the constellations. The sheets he found were blue with puffy clouds with a quidditch game going on. Then he found a comforter with magical animals on it: hippogriffs, unicorns, phoenix, nifflers, fairies, a Welsh Green dragon, mermaids and grindylows. If he looked really close, he could see garden gnomes hiding in the grass. He was debating between the two when Sirius told him to get both. He found a set of sheets that showed what appeared to be the bottom of a lake with all sorts of water creatures swimming around what looked like the ruins of Atlantis.

Satisfied with his choices, they moved over to the furniture areas. Harry really wanted a desk chair that was more comfortable than what was in there now. Plus, the furniture in the sitting area was much more formal than he liked. He wanted to be able to bring his friends in there and lounge around. The desk was perfect, though. He looked at chairs first. After trying several of them, he found one that was multi-purpose; it provided a stout desk chair for studying, transformed into a comfortable chair for reading, and then could become an extra bed if necessary. All he had to do was tell the shopkeeper the color he wanted.

While looking at the chairs, he found one that would be a more formal chair for the sitting area, but would also turn into a comfortable reading chair if needed. He could see Hermione curled up in one. The sofa he found was also more casual than what was currently in there. He thought he was done until he found a game table. It was suitable for a wizard's chess match as well as other board games, both wizard and muggle as the chess board could do double-duty for checkers. There was a drawer in it that held the game pieces. He decided to get that as well as some chairs specifically for it. He could see spending time with Ron playing chess while Hermione curled up with a good book. Satisfied with his purchases, Sirius made arrangements for Kreacher to pick them up.

They decided that lunch was in order. Harry, in an imitation of Ron, asked to go to Fortescue's. He was ready for a sugary confection to top off his week. Once this had been done, they went back to Black Hall.

"Harry, I know you've said there were quite a few things you wanted to do over the Christmas holidays, so I think we need to sit down and make out a plan. We've both been invited to several holiday parties. I wanted to discuss them with you first. I have accepted the invitation to Lord Greengrass' Boxing Day reception. I believe you know his daughters."

"Yeah, Daphne is in my year. I haven't met her sister."

"Well this is one of those functions that is almost mandatory for those of polite society. There are also invitations for both of us to a Christmas Eve tea at Amelia's house. I felt obligated to accept for us with all she has done."

"Oh, that's fine! I don't mind that. I just don't want to feel like I'm being put on display. I've had enough of that to last a lifetime."

"I won't let that happen. Now the Goblins are having the basilisk auction on the 27th that you said you wanted to attend, correct?"

"Yeah. I can't believe it's worth as much as Snape said it was."

"The Goblins have also said they would be able to meet with you to try and remove that thing in your scar sometime during the holiday. Would you like to schedule that for the Monday after you get home to get it out of the way? Oh, and traditionally the Blacks have hosted a New Year's Day reception. I haven't thought about that yet as it would require me to open up the house further to outsiders. I've wanted to keep this location private as much as possible."

"I'd like to go ahead and get the horcrux removed as soon as possible. And couldn't we use Potter Manor for the reception?"

"That is an option, but then it would actually be a Potter function. I suppose we could bill it as a Potter-Black reception for correctness."

"That's OK with me. I bet the elves would be happy to have something to do."

"Perhaps we should clear this with Cassie to see if she is ready for something like that?"

"Sure. Dobby can help too."

Remus laughed, "Are you sure you want him near your guests?"

"Well, he was the Malfoy's elf so I'm sure he knows what would be expected of him in something like that."

"That's a very good point, Harry," Remus conceded.

"It would be expected to ask the members of the Wizengamot to attend. Do you have anybody you'd particularly like to invite?"

"Well, the Weasleys. And Hermione and her parents. I guess Neville would automatically come with his Gran."

"Yes."

"What about Professor McGonagall?"

"That would be appropriate as she is now the Headmistress."

"I don't think he'd come, but Professor Snape since he's been a help to me this year?"

Both men laughed at that, "Yes, it would be appropriate, however I doubt Severus would accept," said Remus.

"Oh, and Mr. Howe and his family."

"Absolutely," said Sirius.

"Before we get into the details further, one other item on our schedule is that I've scheduled a Black Family Meeting for the Sunday after you come home. This would allow both you and Draco to attend without missing school."

Harry made a face, but understood.

"So what does that mean?"

"I'll have you and me, Narcissa and Draco, and the Tonks here. That's when I'll officially welcome the Tonks back into the Family. I've already cast out Bellatrix but I haven't made a formal announcement. While I've offered protection to the Weasleys and Hermione, it's not appropriate for them to attend. This is only for those who carry the Black blood. Since your grandmother Dorea Potter was a Black, you are also a member. Which leads me to another item."

Harry looked at him quizzically.

"I am more than overdue to make out a new will. While my last will named you as my beneficiary, that was before I was Lord Black. I plan to officially name you as my Heir. There typically is a formal ceremony related to the naming of an Heir in all pureblood families. However, since you are not my son, it's a bit more complicated."

Harry looked at him confused, "What's complicated? The Muggles do it all the time."

"Again, it is the pureblood aristocracy that make it complicated. What I would like to propose to you is for me to adopt you."

"Adopt me?" Harry's eyes flew open wide.

"Yes, pup. I'd like you to be mine permanently as it always should have been."

Harry flew out of his chair over to Sirius and wrapped him in a hug. It was then that Sirius felt the sobs coming from the teen. Remus left the room to give the pair a bit of privacy. Once Harry had calmed down, Sirius had Kreacher bring them a couple of butterbeers.

"So what would this ceremony look like?"

"I'm not exactly sure myself. I know there is an exchange of blood, but the exact process I've still got to research. I've got an appointment Monday to speak with Augusta Longbottom. She should know it. As for the Heir naming ceremony, I went through that with Arcturus when I turned eleven. There is a ceremonial seal for each of the Ancient and Noble Houses. There is a specific litany for the naming of an Heir and the presentation of the Heir ring. I'll send it to you so you'll have a chance to see it ahead of time. Once I know more about the adoption ceremony I'll send that as well."

"OK. That seems simple enough."

"You also said you wanted to spend some time at the Potter house in Italy with your friends. With everything we have going on right now, I'd like to suggest we hold off until Easter break. We'll have a lot more time to relax then. We don't know exactly how you are going to react to the removal of the horcrux either."

Harry was disappointed, but he had to agree. There was just too much going on. He'd still plan to spend some time with his friends, "Well, I'd still like to at least visit the other two properties to make sure everything is being taken care of. Can we at least do that?"

"I think so. Maybe one before Christmas and the other afterwards? I know there's a Hogsmeade weekend before you leave, but do you need to do any shopping for your friends?"

"I think I know of what I'm going to get most of them. Have you got any ideas for Remus?"

"I've been wondering myself. Perhaps we can see if there's something in one of our vaults. I'm sure there's some rare books he might not have."

"That's a good idea."

"Once I know more about what's going on, I'll send you a tentative schedule for the holidays. Then we can see what else we may need to do. Remus and I will work on the invitations to the New Year's reception."

"So what's happening with Malfoy's father?"

"The Ministry is trying to decide when to have his trial. The way it's looking, it will probably be during the next Wizengamot meeting right after Christmas. How is Draco behaving?"

"He's left me alone. His buddies Crabbe and Goyle have looked like they wanted to start something but without Malfoy leading them, they don't know what to do with themselves."

"Well, that's good. Just make sure you aren't the one starting anything. While you are not yet a member of the House of Black, we don't want to be seen fighting amongst ourselves. We're going to the Burrow for dinner tonight. Did you finish your homework yesterday?"

"I still need to finish the essay for Snape. Do you think you or Remus could show me the _Patronus_ charm?"

"We might have some time to start working with you on it. It's a very advanced spell that not even some grown wizards can master. Don't be disappointed if you don't get it right away."

"OK. I've just heard you both talking about it, and I'd like to be able to fight off a Dementor if it ever comes near me again."

Harry settled into his room with his homework. He was right; the new chair was great for reading and was even better for spending time at his desk writing essays. Harry had wandered down into the Black library to find some books to use, but Sirius felt better taking him over to Potter Hall and the library there. Once he'd gotten the books he needed they floo'd right back, but not before Dobby made sure he had some fresh biscuits.

Dinner at the Burrow was different. Without the dull roar of the other members of the family, it was much too quiet for Harry's liking. Mrs. Weasley had gathered him into a smothering hug when they had arrived. Harry helped her set the table even though she tried to shoo him away. Dinner was the usual sumptuous meal. Afterwards, while the adults were talking, Harry's eyes started drooping. It had been another busy day. Sometime later, Remus woke him up to head back to Black Hall.

Sunday morning Harry did something he hadn't done in a long time; he slept in. Sometime after ten o'clock he finally stumbled out of bed for a late brunch. Remus was also late arriving. As it was so close to the full moon, he was feeling the early effects. Once everyone had eaten, they adjourned to the training room in the cellar. Remus switched into teacher mode to explain the charm to him.

"The _Patronus_ charm is used to repel Dementors and lethifolds as you learned earlier this month. It requires quite a bit of magical power, but it also requires the caster to think of a happy memory to power it. As you are aware, the spell is ' _Expecto Patronum_ ' with an accompanying wand movement. Here, let me show you."

Remus came up beside Harry and helped him with the wand movement until he was satisfied Harry had it right.

"Now, think of your happiest thought, then try the charm."

Harry thought of several happy moments but settled on the one where Sirius had asked him to let him adopt him. Keeping that memory at the forefront, he said the incantation and waved his wand. All he got was some silvery mist.

"Very good, Harry. Some people never even get that far. Try it again."

Harry tried a half dozen more times, but all he got was the mist. He was getting dejected.

"Oh, pup, don't expect to get this one right away. It took me several months before I was able to master it and I was a sixth year. I'm not even sure I can cast one anymore after spending so much time with the Dementors," said Sirius.

"So what was your _Patronus_ , Sirius?"

"It was a Grim, just like my animagus form."

"Does that mean whatever my _Patronus_ is will be my animagus form?"

"Not necessarily. Peter's animagus was a rat, but he couldn't produce a _Patronus_."

"Perhaps I can see if there's another boggart in the castle for you to practice against, Harry." said Remus, "sometimes it helps to perform the charm against a real enemy."

"Can we? I'd like to keep trying it."

Shortly after lunch, Remus and Harry went back to Hogwarts. The first thing they did when they got there was to take Harry up to the Hospital Wing to have Madam Pomfrey recheck him. She was quite pleased with the progress Harry had made and, while she'd really prefer him to keep taking the potion a bit longer, she agreed that he could stop it if he absolutely had to. Harry gave a whoop of joy before flying out of the Hospital Wing and back to Gryffindor Tower. Remus and Madam Pomfrey both had a laugh at the antics of a thirteen-year-old boy rather than the so-called Savior of the Wizarding World.

* According to the Harry Potter Lexicon, Dumbledore was born sometime in the summer of 1881


	55. Appointments and Ultimatums

**A/N: My apologies for confusing you yesterday. There was a glaring error in that chapter (about Harry not being of Black blood) that I needed to fix. I should have done it today with its update. Updates will always be on a Tuesday. I hope you enjoy this!**

55\. Appointments and Ultimatums

December first was the first meeting of the revised Hogwarts Board of Governors. Sirius arrived at the castle a bit early so he could visit with both Remus and Harry before the meeting. Hagrid had let him onto the castle grounds and he made his way to the DADA classroom. Remus was expecting him.

"How are you doing, Moony?"

"I've had better days, but it wasn't a bad full moon all things considered. The Wolfsbane really does make a difference. Severus said he was evaluating some of the changes suggested by Lily, but wasn't ready to try any of them yet."

"So Minerva was fine with me coming a bit early?"

"Yes. She said she knew there were some things you needed to ask her about. However, it will have to be AFTER lunch in the Great Hall."

"She really wants to put me on display, doesn't she? Are you sure you can't get Harry out of class?"

"Even though he has History of Magic, he must still attend for the time being."

"Well, hopefully we can fix that problem soon as well."

They walked into the Great Hall where Minerva had placed an extra chair next to hers for him. As he was walking over, he looked over to the Gryffindor table for a messy head of dark hair. Finding him with his two friends, he relaxed just a bit.

"Sirius, good to have you with us. Remus said you needed to speak with me about a few things. Can we talk about it here or would you prefer to wait until we get to my office?"

"Here is fine. Nothing requiring secrecy although there are some things previously in your office that I need to take a look at."

She nodded, understanding that he meant some things of Albus'. She clapped her hands and the food appeared on all of the tables. After serving himself, Sirius brought up one of the other reasons he needed to speak to her about.

"Apparently there is a closed room in the castle where Harry's mail has been stored over the years. Albus said that the head elf, Pappy, would be able to show us where it is."

"Yes. I wondered where that was after hearing about that charge. We have an hour after lunch before the start of the Board of Governors meeting to visit that room. I've had Albus' things packed up already so I'll need to know exactly what you are looking for so that the elves can find the appropriate box."

Lunch continued in a friendly fashion. When the bell rung for the start of afternoon classes, Sirius accompanied Minerva to her office. He was pleased to hear that candy was no longer used for passwords to the Headmistress's office. Once in there, she called for Pappy.

"Headmistress be calling Pappy?"

"Yes. It is my understanding that the former Headmaster had a room set aside for mail addressed to Harry Potter. He told Lord Black that you would know where it was."

A voice behind her said, "It's the room on the second floor behind the tapestry of Marvin the Mysterious."

Minerva replied, "Thank you Albus. Pappy, Sirius will be spending some time in that room along with Harry Potter and Remus Lupin. Could you ensure the wards are set to allow them entrance?"

"Of course, Headmistress. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Since it is the first time, yes."

Sirius and Minerva followed the aged elf. Oddly enough, the tapestry was directly across from Myrtle's bathroom. When they opened the door, there was a stack of mail two feet high covering the floor of the room."

Minerva asked, "Pappy, did anyone sort through this mail or has it been like this the whole time?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore told us to leave it here but bring him any mail from Gringotts. We put in an owl opening so we wouldn't have to keep an elf here permanently," he said, pointing to the opening near the top of the room.

Sirius surveyed the mess and said, "I think this is going to be more than the three of us will be able to handle easily. I think I'm going to have Harry's elf, Dobby, come in here and sort through it first. We'll probably bring Hermione and Ron with us when we go through it this weekend. If that's agreeable with you, Minerva."

"Of course. As long as you make sure the three of them have their homework done," she said with a twinkle in her eye. Sirius wanted to ask her if the Head position came with an automatic eye twinkle.

"Certainly, Headmistress. Far be it for me to interfere with the education of these three impressionable young minds. It would be against my purpose as a member of the Board of Governors." Both of them laughed.

"Thank you Pappy. If you could set the wards for Dobby as well as the other two students, then you may go back to your duties."

The elf snapped his finger, then popped out. Sirius then called Dobby. The elf popped right into the middle of the pile of mail, upsetting the letters and packages. The two adults hid a laugh.

"Dobby. All of this mail came for Harry over the years. If you could sort it into some sort of system so that we can go through it, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course Master Doggie! Dobby is happy to do this for his Harry! I will stay here until it is done."

"Dobby, you don't need to do it all at once. Make sure you take time to eat and rest. When you've done that, if you'll let Remus or Harry know you've done it, then go back to Potter Hall. We're going to start going through it this weekend."

"Yes, Master Doggie."

Minerva looked at Sirius with a smile on her face. To stop where he knew she was going, "He's been calling me that ever since I first met him. He must have sensed my animagus form. He calls Remus 'Master Wolfie'."

Minerva and Sirius went back to her office. She then called for Lucy, Dumbledore's private elf.

"What can Lucy do for the Headmistress?"

"When you were packing up Headmaster Dumbledore's belongings, do you remember seeing several vials with a silvery mist in them?"

"Yes Mistress McGonagall. We put them all in one box with extra cushioning charms."

"Could you bring it here?"

The elf popped out and quickly returned with a box. "This be them, Headmistress."

"Thank you, Lucy."

Sirius took the box and opened it. There must have been over a hundred vials in there with various memories in them. Albus piped up again, "I labeled them with TMR so they shouldn't be too difficult to find."

"Thank you Albus. Are there memories in there that you would wish destroyed?"

"I'm sure there are, but I will leave that to both of your judgment."

Sirius and Minerva looked at each other, but said nothing.

"If you don't mind, Minerva, I'd like to leave this here until after the meeting."

"Certainly. I'm sure it would raise more questions than answers."

Sirius placed the box on one of the chairs, then they both went down to the Board of Governors meeting room. Most everyone was there, just waiting for Madam Marchbanks to arrive. Five minutes later she did, and the meeting began.

"As you know, we had a vacancy on the Board as a result of the departure of Lucius Malfoy. With your concurrence, I offered the post to Lord Sirius Black and he graciously consented to serve. Thank you Lord Black."

"I appreciate your trust in me. I will endeavor to serve the Board faithfully and with the highest ideals for Hogwarts."

"I believe our first order of business is the appointment of a new Deputy Head. Headmistress McGonagall has recommended Professor Charity Burbage for this position. Minerva, if you would, please tell us more about her."

"She is a half-blood who is currently teaching our Muggle Studies course." There were a few murmurs at that, but she continued. "She was a Hufflepuff when she attended. She earned NEWTS in Muggle Studies, Charms, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes and Herbology with either an Exceeds Expectation or Outstanding. She is in her seventh year as a professor, however she did take a sabbatical two years ago to research more on the current state of Muggle technology. She is well-liked by both staff and students. Prior to coming to Hogwarts she spent thirteen years working at the Ministry in the Department for International Cooperation and also served in the Muggle Liaison Office."

Lord Greengrass asked the first question, "What makes her more qualified than other professors with longer tenure?"

"When we took a long look at who was available for the position once we removed the Heads of House from consideration, we were left with only four professors to choose from. Aurora Sinistra teaches Astronomy and has been here for twenty-five years. The majority of her classes are at night which would prevent her from being able to dedicate the time necessary in the hours we would need her. She teaches all seven years of students. Septima Vector teaches Arithmancy. While she has no students prior to third year, she does have quite a few students who pursue it through NEWTS. Likewise, Bathsheba Babbling teaches Ancient Runes and also has a number of students who pursue this through NEWTS. Professor Burbage has only a handful of students who pursue Muggle Studies through NEWTS and those tend to be done through independent study. We also considered house affiliation. Septima graduated from Beauxbatons. Aurora was in Slytherin while Bathsheba was in Ravenclaw. There hasn't been a Hufflepuff Headmaster or Headmistress since the Founders so we felt it would be a step forward in uniting the houses."

"A very reasoned explanation Minerva," said Sirius.

"Why were no men considered," asked Madam Zabini.

"At the present, we have a small number of faculty due to the dwindling number of courses we teach. As Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape are both Heads of House, that only leaves Remus Lupin. As this is only his first year, it did not seem wise to consider him. He has, as I stated last meeting, been appointed as the Gryffindor Head of House."

"I believe we would like to speak with Professor Burbage before confirming her appointment if that is possible," said Madam Marchbanks.

"She is awaiting your summons in her quarters." Minerva sent her _Patronus_ off to alert Professor Burbage that her presence was required.

When Charity arrived, she was introduced to the members. Similar questions as to those asked of Minerva McGonagall were asked of her. Finally, Simon Potage asked her something that had yet to be touched on, "If the Board approves of your appointment, what do you see yourself bringing to this School?"

"Headmistress McGonagall has tasked me to head a committee to determine changes necessary to the curriculum. While we have not determined just what those changes will be, we are looking at the following possibilities. First, the removal of Divination. It is a known fact that unless you are a born Seer, that class is absolutely useless. Muggle Studies and Wizarding Culture would become a mandatory part of the curriculum for all students in first and second years. They would drop it at the third year point in favor of other available electives. Additionally, Latin would be taught for the first two years. We are considering adding Warding at NEWT level as one would need the prerequisites at OWL level to understand the subject. Defense Against the Dark Arts would become Applied Magic."

Madam Zabini interrupted, "And what purpose would it serve for everyone to take Muggle Studies?"

"Our world is linked to that of the Muggle world whether we want to admit it or not. The technology gains they have made in just the past twenty-five years is astounding. They can compress an enormous amount of information into a box as small as a bread box and retrieve it in seconds. They can destroy a city with one weapon. Muggles have sent men to the moon and back since 1969."

"That is absurd!" exclaimed Madam Zabini.

"What is absurd? That Muggles have managed to do something that we magicals cannot or that they found a need to do so?" Professor Burbage replied pointedly. Sirius was sitting back enjoying the debate.

"And the purpose of Wizarding Culture for all students?" asked Madam Summersby.

"Muggleborn and half-blood students make up two-thirds of the student body now. One reason they are looked down upon by pure-bloods is that they don't understand our world or don't take the effort to do so. This will allow them to understand how our world works and how our customs came to be. We are also considering, but have not decided, to offer the option to test out of these classes. It serves no use for students to sit in a classroom learning something they grew up knowing. These tests would be offered during the first few days prior to the actual start of term, which brings up another item. While school will still start on September first, we propose to bring the first years here on August 28th. This will give us a few days to orient the students to the castle as well as provide basic skills to them in using a quill, preparing an essay, finding their way to their classrooms and other general orientation matters. We will also have the school mediwitch give them all physical examinations so she will be able to have a baseline from which to judge any further injuries or illnesses."

"Now see here! I have my own personal healer that my family has used for years. I don't want some mediwitch telling me what his medically necessary for my child!" said Lord Greengrass.

Sirius interrupted, "Each year, abused and neglected children arrive at Hogwarts. This is especially true of muggleborn or muggle-raised magical children as their parents or guardians do not understand what they consider strange behavior to be accidental magic. Having an initial physical examination documented and in each child's records will allow the staff to discover these children earlier and help them. I firmly believe this would have helped my godson immeasurably, had the former headmaster not interfered."

Minerva added, "This is not set in stone Lord Greengrass. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey can provide a standard health record format that your personal healer could provide to us. We are still working those details out."

Lord Greengrass seemed to be satisfied with that option.

Madam Marchbanks took the floor again, "Apparently quite a lot of thought has gone into future planning since our last meeting. Did you have anything else you wish to add, Professor Burbage?"

"I believe that summarizes our discussions to date, Madam Marchbanks."

Mr. Caldicott asked, "When would the sorting be done?"

Minerva answered, "It would still be done on the first. During the first few days, the first years would all share one dormitory. This would allow them to meet their fellow first years without the biases associated with certain houses."

"If there is no further debate, I believe we should take a vote. All in favor of appointing Professor Charity Burbage as the new Deputy Headmistress, please raise your wand." She counted seven raised wands. "All opposed." Two raised wands.

"Congratulations, Deputy Headmistress Burbage. I'm certain Minerva will be putting your skills to good use. I believe our next item of business is a report on activities at the school since our last meeting. Headmistress McGonagall?"

"As Charity has just elaborated, we have a committee of faculty members who are reviewing the curriculum to see how we can improve. Our most pressing needs right now are to appoint an interim Transfiguration teacher and a new History of Magic teacher. I believe I have located a satisfactory Transfiguration teacher who will instruct the first through fifth years. I will continue the two NEWT classes until we are able to get a fully qualified Transfiguration professor who has their Mastery. I have contacted Emmeline Vance about this position and she is available to start next term."

"Yes, I gave her NEWT practical to her. She scored an Outstanding as you would expect for someone being considered for a teaching position," said Madam Marchbanks.

"She was especially helpful with the first years in Ravenclaw her last three years. I believe she also assisted other houses as well."

"Does anyone have any further discussion on this candidate?" asked Madam Marchbanks. Seeing no other questions, she nodded to Minerva to continue.

"The other critical position to fill is that of History of Magic professor. I have convinced Professor Binns that it is time for him to take his rest, understanding that we may call on him for special lectures from time to time. I had quite a few applicants for the position. I must admit, I discounted the Hogwarts graduates for this position. We have had only a handful of students progress to NEWT level in the past fifty years. The best qualified candidate is a man named Adam Newell. He is originally from America but has spent the past fifteen years on the continent studying comparative magicology. He has published several works including a study of the war with Grindelwald and its relationship to the Muggle World War II. He also has an additional Mastery in Archival Studies which would prove useful in preserving our latest discovery. He is also available at the start of next term."

"And he is willing to come to Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Caldicott.

"I was surprised as well, but he has always wanted to teach and he felt the challenge of rebuilding our history curriculum enticing."

"Are there any other positions you anticipate filling, Headmistress?" asked Mrs. Wycliffe.

"I would like to hire an assistant caretaker. Argus Filch is an institution here and I can't see tossing him out on his ear. However, there is much to be done with a castle of this age and without magic, he is quite limited. Also, having someone able to work with the elves would also be an asset."

There was quite a discussion on that, with the general sentiment being that Filch had long ago passed his prime and was basically useless. Allowing him to remain in a token position, similar to what she planned to do with Sibyll Trelawney, would be her way of easing him out. The Board was generally in agreement with that.

There was further discussion concerning the financial health of the school and ways to improve it. Apparently nobody had a really good idea of what the school actually had. Minerva hadn't been able to find the latest Gringotts statements. The Board decided to have Sirius go with Minerva to Gringotts for a complete accounting of the solvency of the school. With no further business, the meeting adjourned.

OoOoOoOoOo

With the calendar turning to December, thoughts among the students of Hogwarts turned to their end of term exams. Hermione had been on Harry and Ron to stick to a schedule to revise for them. While Harry was doing his best, it seemed Ron was rebelling further. Harry had gotten a clean bill of health from Madam Pomfrey and no longer had to spend time on Saturdays brewing his nutrient potion. That let him sleep in just a little more on Saturdays. There was a Hogsmeade weekend on the 11th so they could buy holiday presents for friends and family, plus take a break from testing. All of their teachers had piled up homework in preparation. While there were no pending Quidditch matches, Harry still had practice twice a week which added to his workload.

Tuesday evening, everyone was grousing about the workload. Harry had come back from Quidditch practice tired and sore. There had been a brisk wind blowing so it was more than a little bit difficult to stay on his broom. Added to that, the twins had "accidentally" hit a bludger at him requiring not only a sloth roll to avoid it, but a corkscrew downward. His shoulders had taken the brunt of that maneuver. Oliver Wood had chastised them for trying to injure his seeker, but the twins fired back that the opponents would be doing that were it a real game. Harry got back to the dorm and pulled out his books. He still had a long essay to finish for Ancient Runes the next morning. He'd gotten started on it, but other events had taken priority. He settled down at one of the tables to work on it when Ron stopped by.

"Hey Harry. I was hoping you'd play a game of Wizard's Chess with me. Trelawney didn't give us anything new and I've already done the work for Charms."

"Sorry, Ron. I've still got my Ancient Runes homework to do and it's due first thing in the morning and I'm still behind on my Potions essay."

"But the Potions essay isn't due until Friday. You've got two days to finish it!"

"I've still got Quidditch practice Thursday evening, so I really need to get it done tonight if I can. I'm still a bit behind for both Transfiguration and Charms too. I can't do it this weekend because of that other project. (He'd told them about the letters and packages that they were going to sort out over the weekend.) I need all of my free time to get everything done. Sorry."

Harry could see Ron's ears turning red and the steam starting to come out of his ears, but he didn't care. He knew it was going to come sooner or later and he'd been putting it off long enough. He'd let Ron be the first to throw down the gauntlet. Hermione was watching from behind her Arithmancy book. Right on time the explosion came.

"You never have time anymore, Harry! What's wrong with you? You always had time for a game of chess. You've got your head stuck in books so much now you're almost as bad as Hermione! You should have some fun while you can!"

Harry glanced over at Hermione after that slight and saw her jaw tighten, "Ron, I do like to have fun, but we are at school and we are here to learn. Maybe Friday night?"

"I don't know you any more! You used to never study this much! As long as you turned something in, it was always OK."

"Well it's not OK anymore. Sirius has made it plain that he expects my grades to be good and so has Remus. Without the charms and bindings from Dumbledore on me anymore, I don't have an excuse to slack off, not that it mattered before. Sirius told me that if I don't get at least an Acceptable in everything he'll ask Remus to start checking my homework. He expects me to get Exceeds Expectations or better, but he is giving me slack for History."

"Come on, Harry. Just a couple of games."

"You just don't get it! I've changed, Ron! I've got people who care about me now. You know, if you just spent as much time studying as you do complaining about studying, you could do better too. I'm tired of you playing the victim to your brothers and sister! I'm not sorry I have money. I can do a lot of good with it. But it can't make up for the twelve years I spent at the Dursleys being locked up in a cupboard and starved. You don't know how lucky you are. You've got a family who loves you and cares about you. That's more valuable than all the vaults in Gringotts. You're a whiz at chess. If you put half as much effort into your schoolwork as you do into a game of chess, you'd be giving all of us a run for our money. It's your decision, Ron, but you either accept me for who I am or just leave me alone!"

Harry stormed out of Gryffindor tower not even sure where he was going. He knew if he went to the library, they'd find him and right now, he didn't want to be found. He could go to Remus' office, but then he'd have to explain why he was hiding from his 'friends.' While he was contemplating all of this, his feet were leading him elsewhere. When he finally looked up, he was on the second floor. Taking that as a sign, he pushed open the door to the girl's bathroom and opened the Chamber of Secrets. After opening the several doors, he found himself in the Founders' Library, as he had begun to call it.

Settling himself down, he started working. After a half-hour, he took a break and decided to see if there were any books about his current assignment. He looked over in the Ravenclaw section first but didn't see what he was looking for. He was surprised to find an ancient tome on Norse runes in the Slytherin section. Taking it back over to the sitting area, he carefully thumbed through it until he found the section pertaining to the current assignment. Harry read, fascinated by the information it contained. It was much more in-depth than what his textbook had. He started back writing on the assignment, putting much more depth and thought into it. Once he finished that assignment, he moved on to Potions. Pity he couldn't use the reference material here to help with History of Magic, but Binns was discussing events that happened after the Founders had long died. He never heard the quiet 'pop' of a house elf coming and quickly going.

The only problem with having such a great place to study is that he lost track of time. He was totally absorbed in his work when he heard a loud, "HARRY JAMES POTTER!" in Hermione's voice. He looked up to see Remus, Hermione and the twins.

He blinked a couple of times to clear his thoughts, "Hi. Ummm, what are you all doing here?"

Remus responded, "It's long past curfew. When you didn't return to the tower, they came and got me. We checked the library and you weren't there, so I had the twins get the map. We couldn't find you on it, so that left the Room of Requirement. We were able to get in there easily so we knew you couldn't be there either. Hermione was the one who thought about the Chamber. I had Dobby come and check to see if you were here. I'm going to have to add it to the map for future reference. Please gather your things and make sure you leave anything that belongs here where you got it from."

While Remus was speaking, Hermione and the twins were gawking at the Founders' Library.

"Why didn't you tell me about this place, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, er, it was supposed to be a secret," he replied sheepishly.

"I suggest we all head back upstairs and close this place up. When we get up there, Harry, I will be placing wards on the entrance to prevent you coming down here unescorted."

"But Remus …"

"No buts, Harry. If something happened to you down here, nobody would know. Hermione told me about the argument with Ron and I understand the need for privacy, but this is not the place. Also, it will be twenty points from Gryffindor and detention with me tomorrow evening for being out after curfew and causing several of us to have near heart attacks."

Harry looked at Remus incredulously. He'd taken points from him? He pushed past them all and stalked out of the room. As soon as everyone was out he closed the door. He repeated it as they worked their way out of the Chamber. When they'd finally reached the hall outside the bathroom, Remus sent the others back to the Tower. He wanted a word in private with Harry first.

"Is there something else you need Professor Lupin?"

Remus winced at the formality of the address, but in this case, it was necessary.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, there is. You will wait while I put up the wards." Harry stood there as Remus wove the spell. Once he was done, he turned to Harry, "I have to let Professor McGonagall know about this breach since you are the only one who can get in and out of the Chamber. It will be up to her if she wants to tell Sirius."

"Is there anything else, sir?"

"No, I'll walk you back to the Tower. I don't want Severus catching you and giving you another detention."

Harry muttered under his breath, "Like it would matter," unfortunately Remus' heightened senses heard it.

"Yes. It would matter. We'll discuss this further tomorrow evening when we are both calmer." The rest of the trek to Gryffindor Tower was silent.

Hermione was waiting for him in the common room, but he just pushed on past her. He wasn't ready to discuss this with her yet. He got changed and went to bed without a word to anyone else.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry got up early the next morning and was out of the dorm before the others woke up. He really didn't want to see Ron right now. He was glad he didn't have DADA today or he might say something he'd regret to 'Professor' Lupin. Hermione was waiting down in the common room for him.

"How are you doing, Harry?"

"Fine, Hermione."

Hermione huffed, "Harry James Potter, don't just brush me off like that!"

"What do you want me to say, Hermione? I'm great? I'm fantastic?"

"No. I just want to know how you're doing. I know it was hard for you to do that last night, but really, Ron has been asking for it. I gave him a piece of my mind after you left about his comment about you trying to compete with me. Really. He needs to engage his brain before he speaks."

"I'm sure I'm now the talk of the tower again."

"No. There were some questions about a few of the things you said, but most of the comments were supporting you. Ginny threw a bat bogey hex at him and the twins turned his hair yellow. Percy even turned a blind eye to them. So why don't we go on to breakfast. Maybe later on you can tell me about the place we found you?"

"Sure, Hermione. Thanks."

Breakfast was a quiet affair, but Harry found himself surrounded by Neville, Ginny and the twins. When Ron finally dragged in, he ended up having to sit next to Cormac McLaggen. Harry didn't even bother looking up at the Head Table. He'd see Remus soon enough for detention.

"Oh, Harrikins?" said George.

"Please don't think all Weasleys are like our brother the git," said Fred.

"He's the one in the family born without common sense," said George.

"I made sure he paid for his comments to you," said Ginny, smirking.

"Thanks, guys. So what was this map you were talking about last night?"

The twins looked at each other, "Oooops, well, we were supposed to have shown that to you before. We'll show it to you later," said Fred, looking nervously at his brother Percy.

The bell rung so Harry and Hermione made their way to Ancient Runes. He let himself be overtaken by the subject and forgot, at least for a little while, the spat with Ron. Unfortunately, he had to go to Charms next. Harry decided to sit in the very front of the class which guaranteed Ron wouldn't be anywhere near him. It continued like that throughout the day. Even in Herbology he decided to try something different and asked Susan Bones if he could work with her for the hour.

After dinner, Harry slowly walked to the Defense classroom. He was still smarting from Remus' sharp words last night. He realized that he'd been a bit careless in going into the Chamber without telling anyone, but he didn't see it was as serious as it was being made to be. Finding himself at his destination, he knocked on the door and was bade to enter.

"Thank you for being punctual, Harry. Now that I'm a bit calmer than I was last night, I'd like to discuss the events with you."

Harry nodded at him in agreement.

"Hermione explained what happened with Ron. She also said that it's something that's been brewing for some time. Why didn't you talk to me or Sirius about it before it became a major crisis?"

"I meant to. I told Hermione once that I was going to. Then he'd back off and everything would be fine and I'd forget about it."

"What made last night different?"

"I was tired. We'd had Quidditch practice and Oliver has been insane about it. He said that since we were losing valuable practice time with the holidays he wanted to make it up before we left. I still had quite a bit of homework to do to make up for losing tomorrow night as well before we start exams next week. I'd only gotten part of my Runes essay done and it was due this morning. I just needed a quiet place to work. I knew if I went to the library anyone could find me there and I didn't want to be found."

"That was apparent."

"No. What I mean is that I needed a place where I could think without worrying about Hermione asking me to come back to the dorm and make peace with Ron."

"You know my door is always open."

"I thought about it, but I wasn't ready to explain to you what was going on."

"If you ever need a quiet place to work or just think, I will always be available to you. If there is someone in the classroom, you can always go to my quarters. I won't ask questions if you don't want me to. But going into the Chamber put yourself in danger because nobody knew where you were. If you had tripped going down the stairs and hurt yourself, or there was something else in the Chamber that we hadn't discovered, I would have never forgiven myself. Although I am your Head of House, I'm speaking to you as your uncle as well. Don't ever scare me like that again, cub!"

"I'm sorry, Remus," Harry hung his head.

"Well, it's over and done and I think we've both learned from it."

"What did Professor McGonagall say?"

"I didn't tell her. I felt we needed to work this out ourselves without the Headmistress involved. I did let her know I'd put wards on the door so it couldn't be opened accidentally. I'm pretty sure she suspected something had happened, but wanted to let us handle it ourselves."

"And Sirius?"

"You are going to have to tell him."

"Me?"

"Yes. As part of your detention tonight, you are going to mirror call him and explain what happened."

"Part?"

"Yes. Then I want you to write 100 lines of 'I will not put myself in danger and scare the life out of people who care about me.'"

Harry looked at him incredulously, "You really want me to write that?"

"I do. I'm hoping that will get you to think next time you decide to do something foolish. Now, do you have your mirror or do you need to use mine?"

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his mirror and activated it. Once Sirius heard the reason for the call, he also lectured Harry about keeping himself safe and not scaring either of them. When he heard the punishment Remus had set for him, Sirius increased it to 200 lines. When Harry went to protest, Sirius threatened to take his broom away from him for the entire Christmas holidays. Seeing that he was getting off relatively light, he quickly shut up. Sirius then reminded him that he'd see him on Saturday and he was sure he could come up with even more punishment ideas by then if necessary. Wanting to get to his lines and get back to the dorm, Harry assured Sirius he would be more careful in the future. With that done, Harry set to writing.

OoOoOoOoOo

Saturday morning found Remus, Harry and Hermione waiting in the Entrance Hall for Sirius. Ron still had not apologized to Harry, so they'd let him sleep. He could figure it out for himself later. Sirius led them to the room on the second floor. Harry glanced at the entrance to the girls' bathroom then followed the rest in. They all looked around in surprise; well, everyone except Sirius.

"Dobby's done a lot of work already. I had him come in and organize it as much as possible. Let me get him here to explain what he's done. Dobby!"

"Yes Master Doggie?"

"Thank you for your hard work. Could you please explain the different stacks for us?"

"The stack in the back is presents. The stack to the left is offers. The stack to the right is thanks for saving us. The stack by the door is things Dobby not know what to do with." Dobby's ears flopped down at that.

"Don't worry Dobby, I'm sure there's plenty of things we may not know what to do with either. We'll probably have you take some of this back once we figure out what to do with it."

With that, Dobby popped away.

Sirius looked around, then said, "Well, let's divide and conquer then. Harry, why don't you take the stack of presents. You should have had them before anyway. Remus, maybe you should take the offers. Hermione, you can take the thank yous and general correspondence and that will leave me with the unknown stuff. I think we could use some advice as well. Harry, did you bring your parents?"

Harry pulled out the portrait of his parents and Sirius temporarily stuck them on the wall in a manner where they could see most everything in the room.

Lily looked at the room then said, "Albus was hiding all of THIS from you?"

Harry nodded at his parents then began picking through the large pile of stuffed animals. There were multiples of many of them. Harry pulled a stuffed dragon from the pile and it began waving its tail, flapping its wings and small puffs of smoke came out of its mouth. Harry laughed at it before putting it aside.

"You know you can take a few of them home with you," said Sirius, trying to hide a smirk.

Harry threw the dragon at him, before picking up another and putting it over in a separate pile. He also saw a hippogriff that reminded him of Buckbeak so he put that off to the side as well.

"Is there a wizarding orphanage?" he asked.

Sirius looked over to Remus for an answer as he didn't know what had happened in the years he'd been in Azkaban.

"No, Harry. Most children who lose their parents have other relatives or a godparent take them in. This was especially true during the last war. You can see this by Neville being raised by his grandmother and Susan Bones by her aunt. That's why the position of godparent is held in such high regard in our world."

"What about sending all of the toys to St. Mungo's? Could they use them?"

"That would be a generous thing to do with them, pup," said Sirius. He then pulled out a sack with an undetectable extension charm on it and handed it to him, "Why don't you put everything you want to send to them in this sack. We can arrange a time to present them during the holidays if you'd like. I still think you should keep a couple for yourself though."

While Harry wanted to throw a few more at his godfather, he did pick out a couple for himself. Once that was done, he started in on the other things such as puzzles and games. There were sets of gobstones in many different colors, dozens of wizard's chess sets, decks of exploding snap cards among other things.

"Hermione, do you think the common rooms could use some of these?"

"Well, it might not be a bad idea. Usually they expect people to bring their own."

"What do you think, Remus?"

"I'm sure they can be put to good use. Why don't you set some aside for that and we'll get them delivered to each of the common rooms."

While Harry began sorting the games into piles for the common rooms, Remus was laughing at all of the offers he had been reading so Sirius had to find out what was so funny.

"Moony, you've been over there chuckling the whole time you've been sorting through your pile. What's so funny?"

"Harry's gotten offers of betrothal to pretty much every eligible witch in this country and several others as well. Each year new ones come in as more girls are born. There are also some betrothal offers for several wizards in the group as well."

James had to hold his sides he was laughing so hard, "Oh, Prongslet! The look on your face is priceless. I can see you now, betrothed to Draco Malfoy. Having Lucius Malfoy as a father-in-law." James had to duck to avoid the slap coming his way from Lily.

It continued like that the rest of the morning. Harry got Hermione to help him go over the large stack of books. There were multiple copies of _Beedle the Bard_ which he threw into the sack for St. Mungo's as well as some of the other children's books. Quite a few went into a stack to give to Madam Pince for the Hogwarts Library. Harry took a few as did Hermione. Even Remus found a couple to add to his library.

They took a break for lunch in the Great Hall. Sirius sat at the Head Table and filled Minerva in on what had been happening since he was there previously. He also told her there would be new books for the library. He told her about the offers and James' comments. It was hard for her to maintain her stoic demeanor with that. He told her of Harry's offer to send some of the extra games out to the four house common rooms.

Once full, they reassembled in the mail room, as they were calling it. Harry had pretty much finished his pile of mail and Hermione was done. Remus had divided his pile into those that were nice, but not going to happen (betrothal contracts) and those he would forward to Gerald for evaluation (apprenticeship sponsors, bequests, etc.). Hermione had made a pile of those that really should have a response. She also had separated out the ones that had sent birthday greetings every year in case Harry wanted to respond to those. When all was said and done, there was a huge pile of parchment to be burned. Sirius called Dobby and had him take the sack of presents and general correspondence back to Grimmauld Place and the offer letters to Gerald. Remus called for a Hogwarts elf to take the books up to Madam Prince and the common room elves to take the extra games to their respective rooms. Sirius had shrunken a stack of correspondence to take back with him as well.

Both Harry and Hermione were happy to return to the common room after dinner, but it was short lived. They were meeting Hagrid in one of the unused classrooms to prepare for the lesson on phoenix the next day. Harry was providing the link to Fawkes while Hermione would be taking down notes and helping with what questions to ask. They spent an hour planning out the lesson. All of the students enrolled in Care of Magical Creatures in all years were required to attend while any other student wanting to attend would be welcome.


	56. A Conversation with Fawkes

**A/N: Yeah, I know this is a bit of fluff, but hey, why not? Hermione's questions are in italics while Fawkes' answers are in bold.**

56\. A Conversation with Fawkes

Sunday was the last day before end of term exams for the students. Word had gone out to the students that lunch would be served a half hour early to allow the elves to reconfigure the Great Hall into a seminar format. The Hall would close at one and then class would be held at two. Fawkes would join them after everyone had been seated. Harry had asked him what his preferred perch for the presentation. After thinking for a bit, he said his regular perch would be fine. Sitting on Harry's shoulder for that length of time would give the young wizard muscle strain. Remus arranged for one of the elves to move Fawkes' perch from Harry's dorm to the Great Hall just before the doors were opened.

There was quite a stir in the Great Hall as everyone was talking about the phoenix presentation. Since everyone knew Fawkes lived in Harry's dormitory, he had been pestered with questions for the past several days. To allow him to eat his lunch in some semblance of privacy, the Weasleys (minus Ron, of course) had managed to set a "circle of doom" around him. Hermione was sitting next to Harry on one side and Neville on the other, then the twins, then the rest of the quidditch team on either side. If that wasn't enough, Percy had set himself at one end and he had enlisted Penelope Clearwater, the Head Girl, to act as the gate keeper on the other end.

After everyone had eaten, Professor McGonagall sent them all outside and closed the door. Hagrid, Harry and Hermione were allowed to stay as they were also getting themselves ready. They'd developed a script to start with which would take up about a half hour, then Hagrid would open it up for discussion. Remus had gone down to the gates to bring Sirius up as he also wanted to learn more about the bird before he came to reside with him during the holidays. While the elves were rearranging the room, Hagrid and Hermione were rehearsing the questions he would ask. While they already knew what the answers were going to be, it was still good to keep Hagrid's mind off of doing this in front of a good portion of the student body.

When the Hall had been rearranged, Professor McGonagall opened the doors and allowed the students back in. Since Hagrid, Harry, Hermione and Fawkes were using the area in front of the head table, those professors wanting to attend had set themselves on a row in front. Sirius sat next to Remus on one side and Minerva on the other. At exactly two, Minerva waved her wand and closed the doors; any student not currently in the room would not be allowed to come in late. She had each Head of House checking off those students from their houses who were required to attend. Almost the entirety of Gryffindor was there, about three-quarters of Ravenclaw, half of Hufflepuff, and, surprisingly, a third of Slytherin.

As Hagrid got up in front of the assembly, right on cue, Fawkes flashed into the room and settled down on his perch.

"Aright now. We're here to talk about the phoenix. This 'ere's the most misunderstood magical creature we have, but only because they're so rare. As most of the Gryffindors know, Fawkes has bonded with 'Arry, 'ere, so 'Arry is able to understand some of his thoughts. Fawkes has generously agreed to spend some time with you to 'elp you understand more about 'im. I'm gonna 'ave 'Ermione ask him a few questions that we all set down first, then he'll let you ask a few. 'Aright, Fawkes?"

Fawkes nodded his head up and down, then Hagrid turned to Hermione to ask the first question, "Where do phoenix come from?"

It took a few moments before Harry started speaking, **"Some believe we come from ancient Egypt. There we were called the 'Benu Benu'. Others believe we are from ancient Arabia. The Chinese call us the Feng Huang while the Japanese call the males Hou-Ou and the females the Hou-Oo. At one time, there were a great number of us in all of those countries, but over time, they have gone on to their final reward."**

 _"How many are there now?"_

 **"When last I was aware there are only a half-dozen of us left."**

 _"Where are they now?"_

 **"They have established a colony in Arabia at Heliopolis. It is safer for them."**

 _"Are you the only one currently bonded to a human?"_

 **"Yes."**

 _"Can you tell us about the bond?"_

 **"It is personal between a phoenix and their wizard."**

 _"Will you explain the life cycle of the phoenix?"_

 **"Contrary to the beliefs of wizards, there are male and female phoenix and we are hatched just as other birds. We are nourished as are other young until we reach maturity. We are then led from the nest and sent out on our own. During the time we are maturing, we are taught the ways of the phoenix. How we can help, or not, those we feel deserve our help. Since so few of us are seen on a regular basis, much of our life cycle is just guesses. Some think we are reborn every 500 years or more. As my hatchling** (Harry winced at being called that) **has seen me on a burn day as have other wizards here, you can see this is also a tale. Our rebirth cycle depends on how much of our life force we use over a period of time. My nest mates have been known to go a very long time before they are reborn as they live undisturbed. Since I have been with humans, I've gone through seven rebirths."**

 _"Since birds have different varieties of species, do phoenix have them as well?"_

 **"Yes."**

 _"Why don't we know more about the others?"_

 **"They died out long before humans were hatched. I am what's known as a fire phoenix. The others were air phoenix, water and earth, just as the four elements of magic."**

 _"How did you come to be at Hogwarts?"_

 **"Ah now that is a tale worthy of your time. I once met a wizard of great honor by the name of Godric Gryffindor. He was brave and strong, but also knowledgeable in the ways of wizards. At the time the first wardstone was laid, a great magical force was created drawing me to this place and to Lord Gryffindor. Upon the stone we forged our bond, a bond which has drawn me to seek those of the line of Gryffindor Headmasters. Until Albus, I had not found another so pure of heart. After his defeat of Grindelwald, I appeared to him to continue the alliance I had forged with Godric."**

 _"And now you've come to Harry Potter. Why?"_

 **"I have. As to why? Again, that is between a phoenix and their bonded wizard."**

 _"Would you be willing to answer a few questions from the students?"_

 **"I would."**

At that point, Hagrid took over and started pointing out students to ask questions.

A Hufflepuff student was the first to ask a question, "Are you a male or female phoenix?"

Harry laughed at the answer, then passed it along, **"I am a female."** That brought gasps from the audience. Everyone had assumed Fawkes was a male.

Another Hufflepuff student then asked, "Have you ever had a mate?"

 **"I have."**

And so it went.

"Have you ever had little phoenix?"

 **"Yes, once. They left the nest many sunrises ago. I do not know what happened to them."**

"What did you do after Gryffindor died?"

 **"I returned to the nesting grounds until another worthy of my counsel appeared."**

"Is Fawkes your real name?"

 **"I go by what the wizard names me, however in my clan I am known as Thahabnar or, as you might call me, Gold Fire."**

An older Slytherin student spoke up, "I heard Dumbledore used force to get you to bond to him. Is that true?"

 **"Ah young nestling, that is a common misconception. Phoenix are incorruptible by any means be it potion or magic. We only bond to those we truly wish to bond with."**

A Hufflepuff Harry recognized as Justin Finch-Fletchly asked, "If you've been bound to the Gryffindor Headmasters, does that mean Harry will be a Headmaster?"

Harry was interested in hearing this answer too. He wasn't all that sure he ever wanted to come back to Hogwarts after he'd graduated.

 **"That is something I cannot tell you. While I have only bonded to Headmasters before, that does not mean I only bond with Headmasters, or Mistresses. My apologies Headmistress McGonagall. There have been previous Headmasters of Godric's house that I did not choose to bond with. I am free to choose who I bond with and I have chosen young Harry here as I can see he will be a force for good in your world."**

Harry had hoped he'd keep his mouth shut, but Draco Malfoy still had to stick a comment in, "So did Gryffindor really kick Salazar Slytherin out of the castle?"

 **"That is a common misconception young snake. Godric and Salazar were friends until each passed on from this earth. The difference was that Salazar wanted to bring students to the castle as soon as they showed their magic. Godric was opposed to taking the young nestlings from their parents until they were ready to fly. Both would be horrified to see the discord between their houses as is currently the case."**

There were snickers throughout the hall at that reply.

Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater, raised her hand, "Honored Fawkes, could you tell us more about the phoenix song?"

 **"The phoenix song that you hear is our way of communication. As you can hear as I speak to young Harry here, my song is all you hear. It reflects our moods. If it is an uplifting song, I am trying to express my feelings of hope. Likewise, if it is a sad song, I too am sad. A phoenix' song has a similar effect on your human emotions."**

A fifth year Hufflepuff asked, "Can you tell us more about phoenix tears? We're told they're extremely rare, especially for potions use."

 **"Yes, my tears are rare. It takes quite a bit of sadness to evoke tears from a phoenix. As young Harry can confirm, they are the only thing that can heal a basilisk bite. I have had many wizards, your Potions Master included, who have come to me and demanded I give them tears for their potions. A phoenix does not cry on demand, but only when deeply moved."**

Hagrid took the class back over, "Thank ye Fawkes. I'm sure we all learned a lot today."

Fawkes nodded at Hagrid, **"You are welcome, friend of birds and beasts."**

A round of applause came from most of the audience as they were excused back to their normal afternoon activities. Sirius joined the group on the platform as well as Minerva.

"Well that was very informative. I look forward to you spending time at our house over the holidays Madam Fawkes," said Sirius.

 **"No need to be so formal, father of Harry."**

Well that got some looks after Harry translated it.

Minerva asked, "We are trying to break down the barriers between the houses. If you have any suggestions, Fawkes, I would be most interested to hear them."

 **"Of course, Madam Headmistress. You are doing much to get them to understand that not all followers of the dark one are from Salazar's house. I look forward to the changes you are bringing to this castle."**

"Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger, thank you for your assistance in this very educational event. Forty points to Gryffindor," she said.

After a few more comments, Fawkes flashed away and an elf came to take the perch back to Harry's dorm room. Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and said he'd see him Saturday at Kings Cross Station.

A/N: Here's a list of sources I used for this. I can't give you the exact reference since doesn't allow links in stories. Although I used them for references, some of this is also my own interpretation as I can do that as a fan FICTION writer:

1st-bird blogspot

Ehow dot com

Mythicalrealm dot com

Wikipedia

Hp-lexicon


	57. The House of Black

**A/N: Just a reminder that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters borrowed from the illustrious J.K. Rowling.**

57\. The House of Black

Exams were now upon the school and everyone was in a heightened state of near panic. This was especially so for Hermione, but after two years, most of Gryffindor was used to it. Harry spent time in the library with her. For the first time, she hadn't had to nag him to do it. Harry was surprised when, on Monday night, after the first tests, Ron asked to speak to him in private. They went up to their dorm room and closed the door.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry for what I said to you about studying."

"Are you? Or are you just trying to get back into my good graces? And I'm not the only one you need to apologize to."

"Who else?" the red-head asked in surprise.

"Hermione."

"Hermione? Why her?"

"You also made a backhanded slap against her when you said I was starting to get as crazy as she is about studying."

"Oh, yeah. I guess you're right. I do owe her one too."

"So why now?"

"I had some time to think about it, plus the twins and Ginny said I was being a prat. They were right. I am jealous of you because of what you have that I don't. But when you explained it to me the way you did, I realized that what I have is better than any gold in Gringotts. Sometimes my family drives me crazy, but I guess that's what family is all about. And you're an honorary Weasley too. It's stupid of me to be jealous of my brother."

"Ron, you were the first friend I ever had and I think of you as my brother too. I know that families argue, and I'm also learning about that too. We need to get past this once and for all. I know I've changed a lot in the past couple of months and I hope it's been for the better. I meant it when I said I'd give up all of the gold in my vaults to have what you've had for the past 12 years. We are both going to change over the years, but we need to be able to accept those changes. For me, I've become a better student and I'm trying to not take the easy way out anymore. Sometimes that's really hard to do. It's hard sometimes getting used to the fact that there are now adults in my life who care about me and who I am becoming."

"So, did you really mean it when you said I could be as good as you and Hermione?"

"Yeah, I did. You've got the most strategic mind I've ever seen. If you could put it towards something other than chess or Quidditch, you'd be scary. You have something most wizards don't - logic - and you know how to apply it when you feel like it. You just need to change your focus a little."

"Well, I'm not going to spend all of my time with my nose in a book!"

"I don't expect you to. That's not who you are. But you could put that mind of yours towards charms or transfiguration. I bet even you could do well in History of Magic if you could just stay awake. Most of what he tests us on are dates of events. It doesn't take a genius to memorize them and throw them back up on a test. I can't help you with Divination and you can't help me with Ancient Runes, so we just have to agree that those will need to be done separately."

"Well, I don't see how I can be as good as you in Charms or Transfiguration. Those have always been harder for me than most anybody else, except maybe Neville and even he's doing better this year."

"That's because he has a new wand. You have a new wand too, so it should be easier for you too. You're still thinking you're using Charlie's wand and it's not going to work for you so why bother? You need to get over that and think more along the lines that now you've got a wand that's truly yours, you can kick bum."

"Gee, never thought it that way. Maybe you're right. Do you think you can help me?"

"I'll try. One of the things Sirius and Remus taught me is that magic is more about intent than anything else. You have to believe you can do it. Remember what I said to Hermione in our first Transfiguration class this year?"

"Not really."

"She was having trouble transfiguring her mouse into a tea pot. I told her to take a few minutes and imagine just what she wanted the tea pot to look like before even thinking about the incantation and wand movement. Once she did that, she was able to do the spell. When you go into a spell, you're still thinking that you can't do it so why bother. If you change the way you think, then you shouldn't have any problems either."

"Wow. I never thought of it that way. Maybe Mum will let me practice some over the holidays."

"Well, I doubt she would give you permission, but we both know your brothers do it behind her back. Well, we have Potions tomorrow, so we'd best get to it."

"Yeah. Hermione's going to wonder where we've gotten off to. And I need to go apologize to her too."

Harry smiled at his friend and felt like, for the first time, Ron really 'got it'. Harry followed him down to the common room, but gave him some room. When he saw Hermione give Ron a huge hug, he knew all was right again.

The rest of the exams passed quickly and soon Saturday had arrived and the students departed on the Hogwarts Express. This would be the first time Harry would spend Christmas with people who cared about him and he wasn't at Hogwarts doing it. However, that also meant he had to put on his 'Heir Potter' mask and attend some of the more formal events scheduled. Sirius had sent him a tentative schedule for the holidays. The first thing would be the Black Family meeting tomorrow with the blood adoption by Sirius as well as Sirius naming him as his heir. Then Monday he would be going to Gringotts to have the horcrux removed. If all went well, they'd take a quick trip to the Villa in Italy. On Christmas Eve they had the tea with Acting Minister Bones. On Christmas they would be going to the Weasleys for lunch. Boxing Day saw him going to a reception and dinner at the Greengrass Manor. Then they were going to the auction of the basilisk parts at Gringotts. The 28th was the full moon, so Remus would be indisposed. He would be staying at Potter Hall that night and Dobby would be keeping an eye on him. They would take a quick trip to the Potter Chalet then Sirius had to be back for the December Wizengamot meeting where Lucius Malfoy's trial would be conducted. The Potter-Black reception would be on New Year's Day, then everyone packed back up the next day for Hogwarts. It was going to be a very busy two weeks.

Sirius met him at Kings Cross Station and brought the Grangers with him. This was the first time they'd been able to go through the barrier and see the Hogwarts Express in all its glory. Since the three of them had their shrunken trunks in their pockets, they didn't have to wait to drag them down and manhandle them around. Harry had left Hedwig's cage at Hogwarts as she was flying to Black Hall. Ron decided to send Pig that way too, relieving him of lugging that cage around as well. Hermione had Crookshanks in his basket.

Once there had been hugs all around and reminders of the upcoming events, the three families separated. Sirius quickly apparated them back to Black Hall and sent Harry up to unpack. Once dinner was over, they had to sit down and formalize the rituals to be used tomorrow. The Naming of the Heir ritual had been found in the family grimoires in his vault. The Adoption ritual had been found in an obscure book in Gerald's office.

"Now, there will be two meetings tomorrow. The first will strictly be Black by blood. That will include Narcissa and Draco Malfoy and Andromeda, Ted and Dora Tonks. How has Draco been since his father's arrest?"

"Subdued. We've mostly stayed away from each other. Crabbe and Goyle don't know what to do with themselves anymore without him leading them by the nose. I think it's really affected him to realize his father could go to Azkaban for the rest of his life."

"I'm sure that's a sobering thought, especially as they have held such a high place in the wizarding world of Britain. However, they are still Blacks and that's no slouch."

"Now, once I do all the tossing out and bringing in of people, we'll then do the adoption and then the Heir ceremonies. Once that's done, we'll discuss other business such as the support of Narcissa and Draco in this current mess. After that, I'll open it up for discussion. Once that's done, we'll close the formal meeting and adjourn for dinner. That will be attended by the Family and the protectees so the Grangers and the Weasleys will be here. Kreacher's planning to use Dobby to help prepare the meal if you don't mind."

"Of course not! I'm sure he's happy to help. Maybe he could help out the Weasleys on Christmas?"

"I think Molly would take it as an insult to have a house elf take over her kitchen."

"Oh, yeah. Guess I'd best not offer that, then."

"Now, do you have much shopping to do?"

"Yeah, I really haven't done much of any at all. Would it be possible for us to go shopping in Italy? Maybe I could find some unique things there for my friends as well as you and Remus. Oh! We were going to check our vaults for some books for Remus. Can we go early Monday and do that?"

"Sure. I've pulled out a couple of books already, but we can go into yours. Oh, while I'm thinking about it, would you like to put your parents up in here while you're here?"

"Yes! Let me go get them."

Once the portrait was installed in a place of honor (and despite the grumblings of the Blacks in residence), they set to their task. Once done, Sirius had a bit of a surprise for him.

"Mother would like to have a few words with you before tomorrow's meeting. You can do it now or after breakfast, whichever you prefer. The meeting tomorrow starts at four."

"I think I'll save her for tomorrow after I've had a good night's rest."

They both laughed at that. Kreacher brought them a snack later; hot chocolate for Harry and a butterbeer for Sirius. Finally satisfied they were comfortable with both rituals, they retired for the night.

Bright and early the next morning, both were down in the kitchen eating breakfast. Harry had a chance to take a good look at Kreacher and was surprised just how well he looked compared to the first time he'd seen the elderly elf. His hair was clean and he had on a clean tea towel with the Black Crest emblazoned on it. Apparently having a wizard in residence really did make a difference to the elves. Once that was done, Harry went to have his conversation with Madam Black. Harry bowed to the portrait and said, "I was told you wished to speak with me Madam Black."

"Yes dear. As you are about to be adopted by Sirius, you may call me Grandmother."

"Thank you, Grandmother."

"Now, as you are to become the Heir of House Black, you need to know what is expected of you. House Black is an ancient and noble House and not just in name only. I expect you to represent the House with dignity at all times. We will spend time this summer going over more on the proper bearing expected as the Heir to two Ancient and Most Noble Houses. Blacks never show emotions in public. What is said behind these walls must never be shared with others without express permission. We will need to spend some time with you on your appearance for starters. That bird's nest of hair will need some work. I know it's too late to do anything today, but we must find a solution. A Black never looks rumpled as they've just left their bed. Perhaps letting it grow longer will help it settle down. You must have just recently gotten it cut."

"Actually, Grandmother, I haven't had a haircut since I was six."

Walburga gave a gasp, "You haven't had a haircut in over seven years?"

"No Ma'am."

"Why then?"

"My aunt got tired of seeing the 'bird's nest' as you call it so she shaved it all off. The next morning it had grown back just the way it had been before she cut it. She never tried again and I never had to get it cut. It just stays this length."

"Perhaps you have some metamorphmagus talents. I must speak to Sirius about having you tested. That is indeed a rare talent, although one that does show up periodically in our family."

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. Just what he needed, something else to make him different.

"Now, are you ready for this afternoon's events?"

"I believe so, Grandmother."

"Very well. Now, go and relax. Make sure you wear your best formal robes for this. It's very important. There hasn't been a Black Family meeting in nearly thirty years; not since that old codger Arcturus named Sirius as his heir."

"Thank you for your counsel, Grandmother."

To take his mind off of the afternoon's events, Harry pulled out his holiday homework to get started on. Shortly before lunchtime he heard the floo flare so went down to see who it was. He knew only he and Remus had unrestricted access to the floo. The Grangers would be driving to a nearby location and then Remus would escort them in. According to Ron, both Bill and Charlie were going to be there. He was looking forward to meeting the eldest of the Weasley children.

"Remus! Burning the midnight oil grading our exams?"

"Unfortunately. We couldn't leave the castle until the grades were turned in. You should be getting your report before the end of the holidays. While I know what your grades are, I will only tell you that you made an Outstanding in my class. I'm very pleased with your work. You also have a gift for spells. I've heard that from both Minerva and Filius as well."

Sirius walked in at that point, "Buttering up my godson for something, Moony?"

"Oh no. Just telling it like it is. I've left my things over at Potter Hall and while you're in your formal meeting, I'll go back there to change. I just wanted to spend some time with my best friend and nephew."

As lunch was about to be served, Sirius asked Kreacher to set another plate. The three sat in amiable silence for a bit while they ate. Once done, they discussed current goings on in the Wizengamot and throughout magical Britain. Of course, the main topic was the trial of Lucius Malfoy and there was wide-ranging speculation on what the results would be. While Harry couldn't vote as Augusta Longbottom was the Potter proxy until he came of age, he was allowed in to even the closed sessions. Sirius had already talked to Augusta, Amelia and Daniel Greengrass about having Neville, Susan and Daphne there to observe to keep Harry company.

At two, both Harry and Sirius made their way upstairs to get properly dressed for the occasion. Sirius had told him he would be wearing a special set of robes designed strictly for the Head of House for family meetings. That was the only time they were worn. Harry would be wearing his formal robes as well as the other attendees. Those attending the after "party" were not required to wear formal robes, but most would. Sirius had spoken with Ian and Michelle about the event and assured them that they would be quite welcome in what the Muggle world referred to as semi-formal attire.

They would be using the sitting room for the formal meeting with the backdrop of the family tree tapestry. They had already moved James' and Lily's portrait to an inconspicuous location so they could still watch the events. There would be room in the library for the others to gather until they adjourned to the dining room for dinner. Kreacher would greet the guests at the floo and escort them to the sitting room where Sirius would make formal introductions. All of the formality was a bit overmuch for Harry, but he was just going with the flow, so to speak.

At five minutes to four, Sirius and Harry assumed their position in the doorway to the sitting room. There had been a small podium erected in front of the tapestry with a lectern fronted with the official crest of the Black Family. Narcissa and Draco would sit on the left facing the lectern while the Tonks would sit on the right. Harry would sit next to Draco. Once the two rituals were complete, Harry would then take a seat behind and to the right of the lectern.

Promptly at four, the floo flared and Kreacher escorted the two Malfoys to the sitting room.

"Mistress Narcissa Black Malfoy and Draco Lucius Malfoy, Heir to the Ancient House of Malfoy, Master."

"Thank you Kreacher. Narcissa, it is good to see you again," he said while taking her hand and placing a kiss on the back of her knuckles.

Narcissa gave a short curtsey, "As is you, My Lord. May I present my son, Draco."

Draco bowed to Sirius as was expected, "At your service, Lord Black."

"Welcome to the Black Family Home, Draco. May I present my godson, Harry James Potter, Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Heir Potter, Madam Narcissa Malfoy and Heir Draco Malfoy."

Harry also followed Sirius' lead in properly addressing each member then escorted Narcissa to her seat. As soon as he returned, the floo flared again and Kreacher brought up the Tonks.

"Mistress Andromeda Black Tonks and her husband Theodore Edward Tonks and daughter Nymphadora Lacerta Tonks, Master."

Again introductions were made and Harry escorted them to their seats before taking his seat next to Draco. He could see Draco giving him glances out of the corner of his eye, but decided to ignore it for now. It was not the time for school rivalries to make their appearance. Sirius closed the doors and strode to the lectern.

Sirius raised his wand and said, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, call forth the Black Family Magics to guide us and protect us today. Let us be united in our purpose. _Toujours Pur_!"

Once Sirius made the final pronouncements, he was surrounded by a gold light that quickly faded. Everyone could feel the wards rise up. No one would be able to enter or leave the room until they had been removed at meeting's end.

"I have requested this meeting to conduct formal business of the House of Black. Everyone present is affiliated with this House in some form or fashion. The first order of business is to return a valued member to our midst."

Sirius again raised his wand, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do welcome and return to the Black Family Andromeda Tonks formerly Black. I restore all properties and promises previously provided. Additionally, I recognize Theodore Edward Tonks to be the rightful husband of Andromeda Black and their daughter Nymphadora Lacerta. May their union be guided and protected by the Black Family Magics. So say I. So mote it be." This time the three Tonks were also surrounded by the gold light as well as Sirius. Upon the tapestry behind him, the dark spot where Andromeda had been blasted off quickly repaired itself and added the lines recognizing Ted and Dora.

"My second order of business is to certify before you an oath previously made at Gringotts in order to conduct a task of utmost importance."

Once more Sirius raised his wand and repeated the oath he had made at Gringotts, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do hereby cast out Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black for actions against the House. I declare her marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange null and void. I hereby revoke any dowry provided by the House of Black and seize all assets held. So say I. So mote it be." The gold light once again surrounded him and everyone noticed there was now a black spot on the tapestry where Bellatrix had been. As no one except Sirius, Remus and Harry had been in there, the others didn't know that had happened when Sirius made his pronouncement at Gringotts.

"Welcome back, Andy."

"Thank you, My Lord."

"There are two more formal pronouncements before I can move to the other part of the meeting. Harry James Potter come forward." Harry stepped to the lectern. Sirius moved to the left side of the Black Crest and Harry moved to the right. Harry saw the knife they would be using laying on the lectern. Sirius had shown him where on the crest he would need to place the drops of blood.

Sirius gave him a wink, then said, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do take into care henceforth in the House of Black Harry James Potter. As Master of the House, I swear I will protect and nurture him in all things magic and mundane. He shall be called Son and I shall be called Father." He then turned to Harry.

"I, Harry James Potter, Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, accept the care and protection of Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. He shall be called Father and I shall be called Son."

Sirius took the blade in his left hand and made a cut across his right palm then turned it over so the blood dripped down upon the crest. Handing the knife to Harry, he did the same. When the blood began to mingle, a bright light composed of red, gold, green and silver hues flashed, signifying the acceptance by magic of their bond. When Harry looked down at his hand, the cut had been healed.

Sirius put an arm around Harry and said, "May I present my son, Harry James Potter-Black." After polite applause, he then returned to the ritual.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do hereby name as my Heir, my son, Harry James Potter-Black. May he grow in the wisdom of the Family and protect it all through his days. May the Houses of Black and Potter once again be forever joined in blood and deed. So say I. So mote it be." The final blaze of golden light engulfed them both. Sirius then produced the ring box with the Heir ring and motioned for Harry to come and accept it. Harry placed it on his right ring finger where it resized itself and merged into the Potter Heir ring. Sirius looked over at Harry and pointed at Harry's robes. The Black House crest had appeared next to the Potter House crest. Sirius then directed him to his seat.

"Thank you all for coming today and for supporting us in these important events in the history of House Black. As it has been many years since there has been a House Meeting, I felt it imperative we hold one as soon as practical. As you are aware, many things have occurred recently in our world to remind us that our family is sometimes all that we can depend on. I would like to reiterate in this formal setting that the House of Black will always be your home, Narcissa and Draco, regardless of what ill fortune may befall you, as long as you support our goals and actions. The offer of protection I made to you previously, Narcissa, stands and I make it again before these witnesses."

"Thank you My Lord," both Narcissa and Draco echoed.

"While Draco is aware of this action, Narcissa may not be and I'm certain the Tonks are unaware. The House of Black has taken under its protection the House of Weasley. They deserve to be recognized again as a House proud to hold its head up. Additionally, as individual protectees, I've welcomed Remus John Lupin and Hermione Jean Granger."

Sirius could see the emotions playing across Draco's face. He knew Draco had no love for Hermione nor any of the Weasleys, but Sirius was now forcing them to treat each other respectfully. He knew he would need to ensure certain Weasleys knew this as well.

"I realize that this may be a change of attitude towards some of these people, but I will say this only one time, and I will reiterate it at dinner. We are House Black and we will be united. A slight to one is a slight to all. I will not have members of this House arguing with each other in public. Are there any questions in this matter?"

Murmurs of "No My Lord" were heard throughout the room.

"Now, as for current events in the House of Black, there are several. As you are aware, I have reclaimed the Black seat on the Wizengamot and am making quite good use of it. I've also been appointed to the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. I think this will help us all. There are changes being proposed to revamp the entire curriculum. If there are any suggestions you may have on its new content, please let me know.

I believe you are all now aware that Harry was raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle. As a result, he is unaware of his responsibilities as the Heir of now two Ancient and Most Noble Houses. In their will, James and Lily requested both Augusta Longbottom and Andy to assist him in his knowledge of those responsibilities. He will be spending time with her during the summer trying to catch up. Andy, I look to you to help groom Harry as well. Narcissa, your counsel is also welcome. Hermione has also asked for instruction and we will be assisting her too. The more knowledge of our world we can pass to those new to it, the better off our world will be."

Sirius looked pointedly at Draco and could see the steam starting to rise so he knew it was time to put an end to it immediately.

"Draco, I am aware of your abhorrence of all things Muggle and your attitude towards Muggleborn witches and wizards. As a part of House Black, you will comport yourself in the manner expected of you. From now on, the word 'Mudblood' will be removed from your vocabulary or face censure from House Black. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone could see Draco fidgeting, but finally he said a quiet, "Yes My Lord."

"Just so you know that I am not picking on you, Draco, I've already made it quite clear to Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys that you are also a member of House Black and they should accord you similar respect. I have been assured they have carried themselves in an appropriate manner since your difficulties started. Have I been given false information?"

"No My Lord."

"Good. Well, I've had just about all the formalities I can handle for one day. Does anyone have any questions for me before I officially close this meeting?"

Seeing headshakes all around he then raised his wand again and said, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, do hereby close this meeting of the members of the House of Black. May the Family Magics protect us and guide us in our ways. So say I. So mote it be. _Toujours Pur!_ "

As soon as Sirius stopped speaking, they could feel the family magic dissipate and heard the door to the sitting room unlock.

OoOoOoOoOo

When Remus heard the doors to the sitting room open, he then asked the others to organize themselves into a line as he'd previously instructed. There would be a formal reception line in the sitting room before the remainder of the events for the evening. With Arthur in the lead, he escorted Molly to the sitting room and made introductions of his family to Sirius who then introduced them to Harry, who passed them on to Andromeda and so on down the line. Remus was the last one through as the Steward for House Potter. After Remus finished the introductions, Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Welcome everyone! Thank you for your patience while we accomplished the formal business of House Black. After dinner, I'll be making the announcements to all of what some of that business entailed. If you would follow me into the dining room, I don't know about you, but all that formality made me hungry!"

Sirius led them into the dining room. Formal place tags had been laid at each seat so everyone knew where they were supposed to sit. Harry was sitting on Sirius' right while Andromeda, the eldest of the Black sisters, was on Sirius' left. As there was no Lady Black, what would have been a seat at the opposite end from Sirius there was none. Relaxed conversation flowed through the room throughout the meal. Once pudding had been complete, Sirius adjourned them into the sitting room for coffee, tea or butterbeer.

"Thank you all for coming. As my first order of business, let me introduce to you my son and Heir, Harry James Potter-Black." Harry stole a glance at the portrait of his parents that was still sitting in the room and saw his mother crying with his dad holding her. He gave a nod to Harry to indicate, "Yes, this is what we wanted for you."

"Next, I'd like to introduce you to the Tonks family; Andromeda, Ted and their daughter Nymphadora. They have been formally readmitted to the House of Black. Feel free to make their acquaintance and enjoy yourselves for the rest of the evening."

Once that was done, Harry found himself with an armful of bushy-haired witch.

"Oh Harry! I'm so happy for you! You've got a real family now."

"Oooof! Let me breathe Hermione. And yes, I do," he smiled.

Hermione's parents came over to congratulate him. Then Molly came over and smothered him in a hug as well. Arthur hung back a moment before making the introductions of Bill and Charlie.

Charlie said, "So this is the hot shot who's taken over my reign as the greatest Gryffindor seeker in history. I hear you do me proud."

"Thanks. Now for us to just win the Cup this year and I'll be happy."

"Wish I could be here to see you play, but I've got to get back to Romania as soon as Christmas is over. For some reason, dragons don't recognize Christmas as an official holiday." There were laughs around at that.

"So how is Norbert?"

"Ah yes, you mean Norberta. She's one of the feistiest dragons on the preserve. I don't know how Hagrid managed to get that egg, but it's a good thing you sent her to us."

Hermione exclaimed, "He's a girl! Hagrid said he was a he."

"It's an easy mistake. Hard to check the equipment when the animal is breathing fire on you. Plus, I don't think Hagrid's had much experience with them either."

Bill came over and shook Harry's hand, then took him into a bear hug, welcoming him in his position as Heir of House Weasley and as an honorary Weasley. They all mingled around for a bit before Harry looked over to see Draco standing off by himself. His mother was deep in conversation with Andromeda. Plucking up his Gryffindor courage, he walked over there. He didn't really notice the chatter in the room quieting down as he did so.

"Hey Draco, why don't you come and meet the two older Weasleys. Bill works for Gringotts and Charlie works at the dragon preserve in Romania."

Draco gave a start, "What are you playing at, Potter?"

"Playing at? And that's Potter-Black."

"Yes. Who sent you over here to cheer me up or whatever?"

"Nobody. You heard Sirius. We're all family now. While you and I may never like one another, we can at least be civil to each other. So come on and join the party. It's no fun hanging around the walls."

Draco let Harry lead him over to the others and found himself in conversation with the older Weasleys. Sirius saw what happened as did the older adults and they all nodded to themselves. Everything would be all right.

Sirius took the Grangers over and introduced them to Andy and Ted. Dora had gone over to talk to Charlie as he was one of her classmates at Hogwarts. As Ted was a muggleborn wizard, he had a lot more understanding about what they'd been going through. After they talked for a few minutes, Sirius brought up the real reason he wanted to have the two families meet.

"Ian and Michelle, I think I mentioned to you about having a magical guardian appointed for Hermione. This would provide you someone in the magical world to be able to assess any issues and be able to explain it to you in ways you will be able to understand. After listening to some of the escapades our children have been having, I know you knew nothing about them or, at least, the implications. I was hoping you would consider the Tonks in that role. I think it would help Hermione to have a witch closer to her age to help guide her too. So, now that introductions have been made, I'll leave you to discuss this."

Sirius moved off to observe the room. While Draco wasn't comfortable with the group, they were making sure he wasn't left out. Even Ron Weasley was minding his manners. While it would be a while before major rifts were mended, he felt they were well on their way to building a coalition of friends and family.

OoOoOoOoOo

As soon as the last guest had left, Harry and Sirius raced each other to their bedrooms to change clothes. They came back to the sitting room in their pajamas then a tray of hot chocolate and biscuits appeared. They were both startled out of their reverie by a voice from the wall.

"That was a very nice ceremony Padfoot."

"Thank you Prongs. While I wish it hadn't been needed, I'm happy to call Harry my son."

"Well I am happy for all of us. It may have taken twelve years, but Harry finally has the family he was supposed to have," said Lily.

"Hey Padfoot, have you looked at that ugly old tapestry closer?"

"No, why should I? I know Bellatrix got blasted off."

"I think you should really take a look at it."

Sirius walked over to the tapestry and looked as told. The next thing they heard was a low whistle from him.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"Well, apparently the Family Magics had more in mind than just the adoption and Heir ceremonies. The whole tapestry has been given an overhaul. See where it added you here?" and he pointed to the new picture of Harry that was linked to Sirius. Apparently I activated a self-updating charm that has totally refreshed the tapestry to reflect the correct additions and subtractions. See old Uncle Alphard there? My mother blasted him off the tapestry when he gave money to me after I'd run away from here. Apparently Magic understood it was strictly done by spell and not by invoking the Family Magics so he was restored."

As they were both tired and had a long day ahead tomorrow, they finally headed upstairs to bed for the night.


	58. Christmas Holidays, Part I

**A/N: I'm just fixing some errors - mainly Fawkes' gender. There are some other minor edits as well.**

58\. Christmas Holidays, Part I

Harry woke up quite refreshed the next morning. He was trying to give off the appearance of calm, but he was definitely anxious about what the removal would entail. Sirius didn't even try to hide his concern. The floo flared and Remus joined them. Harry would not be facing this alone. Healer Sormot had sent a preparation sheet to Harry which included permission for them to arrive through one of Gringotts' floos. Marspok was waiting for them at the appointed time and escorted them to a different part of Gringotts, deep in the bowels of the caves. They were led into a sparsely furnished room and told that Healer Sormot would be with them shortly.

Healer Sormot arrived followed by Gorpog, Tunwel and, surprisingly, Bill Weasley. Having a relatively friendly face eased Harry's fears a bit. Sirius and Remus would not be allowed into the treatment room for safety's sake, so Gorpog went over the procedure with them all there.

"As we said before, this soul fragment in you is not parasitic which makes it much easier to remove. We have no records of having to remove one from a human; only from objects. Using the information you provided to Healer Sormot, we believe we have discovered a way to remove it without injuring the host. First we will cast a containment barrier around the fragment. Healer Sormot will make a small cut the length of the scar. We will then drip a single drop of basilisk venom along the cut followed by a balm made of phoenix tears. The venom should eject the horcrux while the balm will neutralize the poison.

Sirius wasn't all that sure about the process, "And if it fails?"

"It will not harm him. Apparently Mr. Potter-Black's system is now immune to basilisk venom as a result of his encounter in the Chamber of Secrets. This is the first recorded case of someone or something becoming immune to basilisk venom."

Sirius, Remus and Bill all laughed after noticing Harry roll his eyes at that. Something else that made him different from everyone else. Just that moment, Fawkes flashed into the room and settled onto Harry's shoulder.

 _If they need phoenix tears, they shall use mine only, nestling._

"Fawkes says for you to use her tears, please," relayed Harry.

Healer Sormot replied, "Fresh phoenix tears are, indeed, preferable. Shall we proceed?"

"I'd feel better if I could be in there with him," said Sirius.

Bill answered, "I know, but the fewer people in there, the less chance the soul fragment has to latch on to anyone else."

"So why are you here?" asked Harry.

"David Reed was unavailable so since I'm the senior wizard curse breaker in Egypt and I was already in town, they wanted me to witness this for recording in wizard history. I will be discussing this with the Unspeakables later."

Leaving Sirius and Remus in the antechamber, the small group proceeded into the next room. It was bare, with the exception of a pentagram inside a circle painted on the floor. Harry was directed to the center of it and told to lay down.

"Sorry we can't provide better accommodations, Harry. The less here, the less we have to worry about the fragment inhabiting. You will be protected while you are in the pentagon. If you could have Fawkes move outside the circle.

 _I will be fine where I am. This fragment cannot hurt me. I will be additional protection for you once it is released._

"Fawkes says she's fine where she is and that the fragment can't hurt her. She'll protect me."

Healer Sormot spoke, "Very well. I will put you into a deep sleep so you will not feel the pain from the cut. Once we are done, I will wake you up. Do you have any questions?"

"No. Thank you Healer Sormot."

Harry laid down inside the pentagram. While the stone floor wasn't all that comfortable, he could manage it for a short time.

 _Sleep well, my little wizard. I will keep watch._

Harry was quickly sleeping deeply. Healer Sormot promptly produced a silver knife and made the incision on the scar. It bled profusely. Gorpog had the vial of basilisk venom and placed the drop on the incision. A few seconds later, a large black cloud arose from it. It gave an unearthly scream then bounced around the chamber. The chamber shook violently each time the spirit hit a wall. After about ten seconds, the cloud burst and dissipated rapidly. Healer Sormot had been watching the spirit and had not noticed that Fawkes had begun to croon and cry over the incision. It healed rapidly and only a very thin line was visible from the previous scar. Healer Sormot waved his hand to do a health scan on Harry. When he was done, Gorpog began casting his spells to detect curses. Finding nothing, he turned to Tunwel who also cast his. Finally, Bill also cast his curse detection spells. Once complete, they all agreed - the soul fragment was fully gone.

While the goblins completed their activities, Bill exited to tell the anxious wizards all was well.

"He's all done. Just doing some last minute checks to be sure Harry's fine."

"And that shaking we felt?" asked Sirius.

"That was the soul fragment trying to escape. It dissipated fairly quickly. That was one very angry soul fragment. You could feel the darkness from it immediately."

"But it's gone, right?"

"Yes, it is gone."

In a very unmanly action, Sirius grabbed both Remus and Bill in a great bear hug. A few minutes later, Harry was escorted out and was also gathered into the circle of wizards. Fawkes took that opportunity to flash out. After a few minutes, Sirius turned to the goblins.

"I can't thank you enough for your help. Whatever you were charging for your services, please take double from my vaults. I am in your debt." Sirius bowed low to the goblin team.

Gorpog, as the senior goblin present, had to shake himself quickly. A wizard claiming indebtedness to the goblins hadn't happened in many years.

"This will be recorded in our history, Lord Black. You are a very unusual wizard."

"I've been called worse. Is there anything we should be aware of regarding Harry?"

Healer Sormot replied, "He should remain quiet for today, but otherwise he should be able to resume his normal activities as tolerated."

Bill escorted the group to the floo where they could leave for home without attracting attention. Once there, they three sat down and let the events of the morning settle in. Harry felt a warm presence on his shoulder and heard Fawkes speak to him, _It is done, nestling. You are now cleansed of the evilness inside you. It is a good day for all._

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry did spend the rest of the day quietly at Black Hall. He figured if he couldn't go out and do anything, he might as well do his holiday homework. He was able to complete it all by dinnertime. Something he could cross off of his list and forget about. Tuesday found them all shopping for Christmas presents. Harry told them he'd already gotten their presents, so the three of them went into Muggle London. Harry wanted to buy some novelty items for the twins to show them what the Muggles could do for pranks. Even Sirius was impressed with some of them. He also went to a bookstore and found a book on chess strategy and a book on the best games of Boris Spassky for Ron. He was certain Ron had never heard of that chess master or his famous match with Bobby Fischer. They also went by Madam Malkin's to get Harry another set of dress robes, this time with both the Potter and Black crests on them. They would have Dobby make sure Harry's other set was updated with the appropriate designations. This time Harry chose a deep midnight blue.

Once done, they proceeded on to Potter Manor. They wanted to be certain Cassie had everything she needed to prepare for the New Year's Day reception. Dobby had been helping the other Potter elves get the Manor ready. Harry reminded Cassie they were planning to visit Potter Villa the next day and Potter Chalet next week. Sirius had already told Cassie of their plans so both properties were ready for their arrival. She also showed them the two House portkeys for both properties. The Ministry allowed international portkeys for a House's specific properties to be maintained by the family. They would floo back over in the morning and pick up the port key when they were ready to leave.

They then went out into the woods on the property near the Quidditch pitch to find a nice Christmas tree. While they were searching, Cassie brought out the old tree decorations for them to use. The Blacks had never celebrated the more modern Christmas, so there were no decorations of any sort in the house. They found both juniper trees and Norway spruce, the traditional Christmas tree. Since the Dursleys were big on tradition and all things normal, they had always had Norway Spruce trees, so Harry quickly decided on a juniper. Finding the right tree rather quickly, Sirius and Remus trimmed it out, then shrunk it and put it in Sirius' pocket.

Once back at Black Hall, Sirius unshrunk the tree and placed it in a spot in the sitting room. Harry and Remus sorted through the boxes of decorations Cassie had found and started putting ornaments of all types on it. There were traditional ones as well as some shaped like dragons that belched smoke, hippogriffs that flapped their wings, and unicorns that pranced. Sirius got in on the fun as well by transfiguring four of the ornaments to represent a stag, wolf, grim and lily.

"So, what should you be, pup? You are the son of Prongs, so an immature buck would probably be good for now, at least until you find your animagus form."

"That sounds good! Thank you!"

While they were talking, Remus also transfigured another ornament to have a lightning bolt on it and the words 'Harry's Second Christmas, December 1993' on it, then handed it to Harry to place. While Harry had learned that showing emotions only got him into trouble, he couldn't help it this time. With a choked voice he took the ornament with a quiet 'Thanks' and placed it reverently on the tree. When that was done, Sirius added fairy lights to round out the decorations.

OoOoOoOoOo

Potter Villa was in Sicily near Giardini Naxos. There was an area of the island that was strictly magical. It was an expansive house with several outbuildings. There was enough room for the Weasleys and the Grangers with room to spare. Harry got his first real taste of the ocean. He didn't count the time they'd spent on the rock hiding out from the owls with his Hogwarts letter. Harry didn't have a pair of swim trunks, so the first order of business was to purchase some. They all walked down to the beach and spent some time playing in the waves. Although Harry knew how to swim - it was something they had taught in primary school - he wasn't that confident of his skills in the ocean. There would be time for that in the summers to come. They spent a little time in the villages surrounding the property and Harry picked up a couple of additional items for both Hermione and Ron.

They trio returned to Black Hall late Thursday afternoon. They wanted some time to recover from the travel before going to St. Mungo's for the presentation of the gifts in the morning and then the tea at Madam Bones' house that afternoon. Harry knew he would have to say something during the presentation so he sat down and did a rough draft of what he wanted to say, ensuring he thanked all of those who had thought of him over the years. He had talked with Hermione about this and she'd given him some ideas. They would also be making the formal announcement of the adoption since it would be quite obvious with the additions to Harry's robes. They all called it an early night.

They were due to meet the Director of St. Mungo's in the fifth floor tea room. It was the only area large enough to hold a press conference. Sirius had let Barnabas Cuffe know about the presentation and told him he'd accept Rita Skeeter covering it as long as she left her Quick Quotes Quill at the office. Remus and Dobby had gone ahead to set up the gifts in a way they could be easily seen. Sirius and Harry floo'd there fifteen minutes prior to the presentation. The hospital Director, Asclepius Derwent (many times great grandson of celebrated healer and former Headmistress of Hogwarts Dilys Derwent) was almost bouncing as he greeted them.

"Mr. Potter, Lord Black, welcome to St. Mungo's!"

"It's Potter-Black, Director," corrected Sirius.

"Oh! My mistake! I was unaware of the change."

"It just happened Sunday and we haven't made a proper announcement. Might as well kill two birds with one stone then."

"Well, then, congratulations to you both. My assistant should be showing the other guests in any minute now."

Remus joined them to make sure the display was the way they wanted it. Harry thanked Dobby then sent him back to Potter Manor to help Cassie with whatever she needed. Just then, the rest of the crowd filed in. Harry was beginning to recognize the group. There was a nondescript photographer with Rita Skeeter, then Xeno Lovegood from the _Quibbler_ and Madam Abbott from _Witch Weekly_ and Mr. Wilding from the Wizarding Wireless. Gerald brought up the rear. There were also several healers and mediwitches/mediwizards as well. According to Director Derwent, they were staff from the children's wing. Finally, the clock chimed nine and Director took his place at the podium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. We are thrilled to have Harry Potter-Black and Lord Sirius Black with us for a special presentation. Lord Black?"

"Actually, this is Harry's show," and motioned Harry forward.

"Thank you all for coming today. I only learned a couple of months ago that, after my parents were killed, many of you sent letters and gifts to me to thank me for getting rid of Voldemort." Harry saw virtually everyone in the room flinch when he said that.

"Yes, I call him Voldemort. Calling him He Who Must Not Be Named or You Know Who just continues to give him power over you. If you really prefer not to use that name, then call him by his birth name, Tom Riddle. A few weeks ago, I was able to finally see what everyone had been sending me. They had been redirected to a closed room at Hogwarts. With the help of several people and elves, we were able to go through it all. Since I've grown up a bit since then," there was a chuckle throughout the audience, "I thought I'd find a home for those items which were more appropriate for someone a bit younger than me. When I found out there wasn't an orphanage in the wizarding world, I figured the next best place would be here at St. Mungo's. I can't find the words to express my gratitude to everyone for all the letters and packages that you sent to me. While I am just the survivor, the real heroes are my parents, James and Lily Potter. They are the ones who should be recognized for their sacrifice. I just happened to be there too. I would also like to thank those witches and wizards who saw fit to include me in their wills. I will make sure those gifts will also be used to make our world better. Director Derwent, I hope you and your staff are able to use these things to help your younger patients during their stay here. Thank you."

Director Derwent stepped forward, "Thank you Mr. Potter-Black. I know I speak for all of us at St. Mungo's that these gifts will be put to good use. I believe Lord Black said they would be willing to take a few questions. Shall we begin with the _Daily Prophet_?"

"Lord Black, did I hear correctly? Did the Director refer to your godson as Harry Potter-Black?"

"Yes, you did. I officially adopted Harry on Sunday. He is now Harry James Potter-Black, Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black."

There was a brief round of applause from those present as well as a few gasps. Madam Abbott then spoke up, "Lord Black, according to our readers, you and your son are the number one most eligible wizard and teen wizard. Are there any plans at this time for you to take a wife or to negotiate a betrothal contract for Mr. Potter-Black?"

Sirius laughed, "It seems the readers of both _Witch Weekly_ and _Teen Witch Weekly_ are trying to marry us both off. The answer is no to both publications. I will not, nor will I ever, arrange a marriage for Harry. Now, shall we confine our questions to the matter at hand?"

Xeno had a question, "Mr. Potter-Black, you said there were other gifts? Could you elaborate?"

Harry looked at Sirius and then at Gerald, "Apparently several people left me both gold and properties over the years. I've had my solicitor, Gerald Howe, working with the Goblins to determine the exact worth of these gifts. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with them, but I want to make sure they are used to make life better for other children who suffered from the reign of Voldemort. There are several of my classmates at Hogwarts who are also orphans. I want to do something to make their lives better too." This was one of the items on his list to talk with Gerald about later

Rita had to ask another question, "Mr. Potter-Black, what do you think about the latest turn in your life?"

"I couldn't be happier. Sirius was supposed to have been my guardian from the beginning if not for the interference of others. With his guidance, I will be able to take my place as the Head of House Potter with the knowledge I should have."

Madam Abbott had to notice this, "Mr. Potter-Black, whatever happened to your scar? It's hardly visible!" Suddenly everyone was looking at his now barely visible scar. Harry looked at Sirius to take that question.

"As a result of the failed killing curse, Harry was left with a shadow of dark magic which showed itself as the famous lightning bolt scar. With the assistance of Gringotts, this dark magic was analyzed and then removed on Monday. What remains of the scar should fade over time, but there will still be a small visible reminder. Now, I think that's enough questions for today. Thank you for coming and we wish you a very Happy Yule."

There was another round of applause then everyone dispersed. Rita tried to talk to Sirius but a glare from not only Sirius, but Remus, Gerald and Harry sent her scurrying away. With a final handshake, Director Derwent excused himself and left.

"Well, pup, what do you want to do now? We still have some time before we have to dress up for the tea at Amelia's at four."

"Actually, I could use a bit of a break before then. I need to send Hedwig to Hermione with her present," he said with a grin. He'd worked with Remus to get a set of communication mirrors for her and her parents. While an owl would have been a good gift, with them living in a Muggle neighborhood it might raise eyebrows with one flying in and out all the time. Hedwig was nothing if not discreet.

The three floo'd back to Black Hall. Kreacher had sandwiches and bowls of onion soup for them for lunch. Each went their separate ways until they met in the sitting room at three-thirty. Remus, as the Potter Steward, had also been invited. Amelia had no compunction about inviting a werewolf.

To keep the floo traffic down, Sirius was going to side-along apparate with Harry. Remus would follow on his own, of course. They found themselves in front of a large wrought iron gate. An Auror was checking names off of the list. It was standard practice for the Minister at the time to hold a Christmas Eve reception and Amelia wasn't going to alter that practice. The presence of Aurors was not unusual. Sirius had a grin when he saw who it was.

"Well, Kingsley, it looks like you've got gate duty today. How did you get the short straw?"

The tall, dark Auror said, "With the likes of you, somebody had to keep things in line. I noticed there was a change on the attendance list. May I offer you both my congratulations."

"Thank you," both Harry and Sirius said.

"Alright, off with you. You're holding up the line for more respectable people."

The three walked up to the house and were met by another Auror and directed to the receiving line. They found themselves behind the Greengrass family. Harry knew Daphne from classes but had never really spoken with her. Sirius did introductions and then Lord Greengrass introduced his family as well. They finally made their way to the head of the line and were announced to Amelia.

"Hello, Sirius. I'm happy you could be here. Congratulations to you both on the adoption. I wish you all the best in your life forward. Harry, that was a nice thing you did for St. Mungo's. I'm just sorry it had to wait so long for it to happen."

"Me, too, Ma'am. I really didn't have a use for most of those things and I'm sure they'll be put to good use."

"Well, let me send you on your way. Harry, there are quite a few of your fellow students here so you shouldn't feel too lost. I'll send Susan over once I'm done with her here."

Harry looked at Susan and could see she was just as excited about being in a receiving line as he would have been. They smiled at each other, then Sirius moved them on. Their first stop was the beverage table. Harry decided he'd try some wassail to get into the spirit of the holidays. Sirius then took him around and introduced him to some of the families who had been a part of the previous Potter Alliance as well as some others that were known to be neutral. Once that was done, Harry set off in search of Neville. He found him talking with Hannah Abbott and Ernie MacMillan.

"Hi Harry! I see you got dragged into this now."

"Yeah. And I suspect this isn't the end of it over the holidays either. I know I'll see you on New Year's."

"Probably Boxing Day as well."

"Yeah. We're going to the Greengrass' reception too."

At that point, Neville saw the change on Harry's robes and gasped, "When did that happen?"

"Sunday. Hannah, am I right to think you are the daughter of Madam Abbott of _Witch Weekly_?"

"Yes, that's my mother. She told me about the presentation this morning. That was a nice thing you did, Harry. And oh, congratulations! She told me about the adoption too."

Ernie asked, "What presentation?"

"Well, apparently after my parents were killed, Dumbledore redirected all of my mail. We found out where it was being kept and sorted through it. There were more stuffed animals and games and such than I'd ever need, so I donated them to St. Mungo's. We did the presentation this morning."

"So is that where the wizard's chess sets and gobstone sets came from that showed up in our common room?" asked Hannah.

"Yes. I thought everyone else could benefit as well."

The teens chatted for a while. Eventually there was a whole group of Hogwarts students - Roger Davies, Oliver Wood, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass and Susan Bones also joined them. Susan said that Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott were there, but they were staying close to their parents. Oliver and Roger were talking Quidditch and kept trying to drag Harry into the discussion. Although Astoria was the youngest in the group, they did try to include her in the discussions, asking her about how she liked Hogwarts and how she was adjusting. Remus came by and spoke to the group but moved on. He knew they wouldn't appreciate being watched by one of their professors. Professor McGonagall was also there and said hello to them as well. Madam Bones came by and spent a few minutes with the group before moving off to circulate among her guests.

Finally, back at Black Hall, Sirius had Kreacher prepare some hot chocolate for the tired trio. Hedwig had returned with Hermione's gift and Kreacher had placed it under the tree. Harry had wrapped all of his presents, including those for both Kreacher and Dobby. He didn't know what, if anything, he should get the Potter elves, so he'd settled for necklaces with the Potter crest on them. They all climbed the stairs and fell into their beds, tired from the days' events.


	59. Happy Christmas!

**A/N: It hasn't been lost on me that it's only take 58 chapters to get from August to Christmas. Still, I hope you enjoy it and think about Christmas in June. As always, the characters are not mine, but belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling.**

59\. Happy Christmas!

Harry woke up to the feeling of a large dog standing on him and slobbering on his face to wake him up.

"Padfoot! I'm awake!"

Sirius changed back into his human form then said, "It's Christmas, pup! You're the one who's supposed to wake us all up at the crack of dawn to open presents! It's already seven. Time to get up!"

"Fine! I'll be down in a minute. Go wake up Moony."

"He's already awake. He sent me to get you."

"OK! Give me a minute and I'll be there."

Sirius left and Harry took a look over where he'd laid the pile of presents for Kreacher to take down to the tree overnight. He'd put the Weasley's gifts on his desk as a reminder. After a stop in the bathroom, he padded quickly down the stairs.

When he walked into the sitting room, both Sirius and Remus greeted him with "Happy Christmas, Harry."

Harry smiled and returned their greeting. Fawkes flashed into the room and sat on a nearby chair. Kreacher noticed and brought the phoenix' stand down for her. She trilled a few notes that Harry was sure sounded like 'Happy Christmas' as well.

 _That's exactly what I said, hatchling. May this be the first of many happy days for you._

"Thank you Fawkes. Happy Christmas to you too."

Sirius was anxious to open presents so he played Santa Claus and started passing them around. Harry opened a gift from Remus that was a set of defensive magic reference books. Harry laughed then asked the werewolf if he was trying to hint at something.

Harry had asked Hermione to pick up a 'gag' gift for Remus for him. She'd sent it back with Hedwig and Kreacher had put it in his room for him to wrap last night. It was a yellow and black book called "So You Want to be a Teacher (Teaching for Dummies)." Remus opened the present, then started laughing loudly.

"What's so funny Moony?" asked Sirius.

Remus turned the book around for Sirius to see, then he also joined in the laughter.

"Are you trying to say my teaching methods are lacking, Harry?"

"Oh no! I just thought it would be funny."

Sirius then opened a present from Harry. He also barked a laugh before holding up a dog sweater with the name 'Padfoot' embroidered on it as well as a collar and leash with the same. Again he'd gotten help from the Grangers. He'd told Hermione what he wanted and she had her parents mail order the special order for him.

Harry had another present for them both, but he'd told Kreacher to bury them in the back of the pile. Harry got his first present from Sirius. He carefully pulled back the wrapping paper to the irritation of the other two wizards.

"Rip it, pup! You're not going to try and wrap it back!"

Harry found a long thin box beneath the paper. Inside was a piece of parchment with the instructions for him to utter the spell ' _Accio Present_ ' for this. Harry had to blush because he'd left his wand upstairs. He quickly ran up the stairs and retrieved it. Once he was back, he uttered the spell and another wrapped package flew into his hand. He'd seen this type of wrapping before; back in his first year. This time he did tear into the wrappings. Once undone, there lay a beautiful new Firebolt with his name engraved on the handle.

"Sirius! You didn't need to get me a new broom! I have a perfectly good one!"

"I know, but this is the only thing I could think of that could come close to making up for the twelve Christmases I've missed. Happy Christmas, Harry."

Harry went over to his god… no FATHER and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

With that gift out of the way, mayhem ensued. Sirius used his wand to levitate all of the presents then had them separate to the appropriate person. Harry had another load of clothes, both wizard and Muggle, as well as a wand holster. Remus also found himself with more clothes as well.

"Are you insinuating my wardrobe is lacking, Padfoot?" asked Remus.

"I'm not insinuating; I'm telling you it is. If it weren't for the robes I made you get this summer, you'd be running around half naked!"

"I would not!"

"Yes you would and you know it, Moony!"

Finally, the last two packages from Harry were left. Both Moony and Padfoot looked at him, with Sirius speaking first, "I thought we'd already opened your presents, Harry." Harry responded with a smile, "Not quite."

Sirius opened his first. In it was an ornament that said 'Dad's First Christmas' along with a watch. It took a minute before it registered with him exactly what it was. Instead of hands, it had three jewel stones - an emerald, a tiger eye and an onyx - at the ends of each of them. Instead of hour markings it had things like 'Home', 'School', 'Traveling', 'Visiting', 'Lost', 'Hospital' and 'Mortal Peril' to name a few. Harry had gotten the idea from Mrs. Weasley's family clock. It took Sirius a minute to understand it, then he grabbed Harry in a big hug.

"This is incredible! Thank you!"

"I couldn't have our pictures on it because it's so small, so I went with the jewels to represent each of us." Harry then made a motion at Remus to tell him to open his. Remus also had an ornament that said 'World's Best Uncle' as well as the watch. Harry then pulled his watch out of his pocket and put it on. He looked down at it and all three hands were pointing to 'Home'.

After the three composed themselves, they adjourned to the kitchen for a light breakfast. Harry gave Kreacher his present - another locket with the House of Black crest on it. Kreacher was actually speechless for a moment before thanking Master Harry. They ate lightly as they knew Molly Weasley would have a feast laid on.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry went through the floo first; thankful that Bill was there to pick him up. His penchant for landing on his bum after any sort of wizarding travel must have preceded him.

"Happy Christmas, Harry!"

"Happy Christmas, Bill!"

They moved out of the way as Sirius and Remus also came through. There were hugs and handshakes all around.

Harry put his presents under the tree for them to open later. Molly passed drinks to the newcomers and they mingled around for a bit until she called them to the table. She had put on another of her famous feasts. Once everyone had their fill, even Ron, they moved back into the sitting room. Arthur began another round of passing out presents. Once they were done, even Sirius and Remus found themselves recipients of a famous Weasley jumper. Remus' had a wolf on it and Sirius' had a black shaggy dog. Harry's was different this year; his had the initials HPB on it. Ron was surprised Harry had given him books until he saw what they were.

"Chess books? Wicked! Almost as good as Quidditch books, mate!"

"That one about Spassky is a famous Muggle chess player. He and a Yank had a very well-known chess match that was famous around the world."

After gifts were finally opened, Charlie asked Harry if he brought his broom. Sirius had carried it through the floo for him so it didn't get broken in the process. It didn't take any time for them to realize that it was a Firebolt and NOT his Nimbus.

"WOW! You got a Firebolt for Christmas? What are you going to do with your Nimbus?" asked Ron with a look of lust on his face.

Sirius then handed him the other broom. "Well, I thought you might want to keep it for me in case I need it for a backup," as he handed it over to Ron. Ron was suitably speechless for all of two seconds before Charlie said, "Well, let's see what that broom can do."

They let Harry take a spin on the new broom to see what it would do while they chose up sides. Harry let Ron take a quick spin too, before play started. Even the older Weasleys got in on the fun. Harry and Charlie were the seekers; Fred and George opposed each other as beaters; chasers were Arthur and Ginny on one side with Bill and Ron on the other; Remus and Sirius were keepers. To keep things somewhat 'fair', the two with the best brooms were on opposite teams. At this point, Sirius brought out the other present he'd gotten for Harry - a programmable practice snitch. They spent the next two hours flying around the Weasley's makeshift pitch and having more fun than Harry could remember having in a very long time. Finally, Mrs. Weasley called them all back in with a round of hot chocolate and biscuits for the teens and something a little stronger for the adults.

After begging off dinner, Harry, Sirius and Remus returned to Black Hall to rest and relax. Harry was tired and still somewhat full from the Weasley's feast. Molly had insisted they take some of the leftovers with them. Sirius had offered Kreacher the day off, but the elf had refused. The flying and the food had made them all groggy, so they called it an early night and headed up to bed.


	60. Christmas Holidays, Part II

A/N: Here it is! The _Patronus_ chapter! I appreciate all of the feedback you gave me for it. I'll tell you that I had it set in my mind what it was going to be until yesterday - then I changed it. I really think this works a bit better. Also, let me congratulate Rori Potter for posting the 1000th review! When I started writing this, I had no clue that I could have gotten the acceptance I have. I am humbled.

60\. Christmas Holidays, Part II

The three had all taken a bit of a lie-in on Boxing Day. The reception at the Greengrass' home wasn't until four, so they had time to relax and take care of a few things before Sirius and Harry had to get dressed up. Once they had gathered around the table for breakfast, Sirius had a suggestion for the morning.

"I was thinking this morning might be a good time to look at some of the memories Albus left us. Even though we have wiped out several of the horcruxes, this might help us finish the task. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I think today would be a good day. We've still got quite a few things to do the rest of the time," replied Harry.

"I would like to see them too. I'll be a bit tied up later in the week with the full moon," added Remus.

With that decided, they finished breakfast and adjourned to the library where Sirius kept his pensieve and had locked the memories up in a warded drawer. As Albus had said, they were numbered in a sequential order. Pouring the first one in, the three watched an encounter between Bob Ogden from the DMLE and the Gaunts. Having Harry there helped them understand what Morfin and Marvolo Gaunt were saying as they were conversing in Parseltongue. Seeing both the ring and the locket in the same memory confirmed they were on the right road to destroying the soul fragments. They knew the locket had been destroyed already, but the whereabouts of the ring were unknown. At least they had a location to start with. Sirius would work on that after the new year.

Pouring the second memory in, they watched the memory of the discussion with Caractacus Burke about buying the locket from Merope Riddle nee Gaunt for a mere ten galleons. They were all astounded that she got so little for such a rare historical object. Sirius remarked that Borgin and Burke's didn't make money by paying top dollar for anything.

The next memory was one of Dumbledore's. It showed him visiting a Muggle orphanage in London and talking with a very young Tom Riddle. The malevolence in the young man's demeanor at that age sent shivers down the three of them. When they came out, Harry couldn't help remarking that Dumbledore knew even at that early age that there was something very wrong about the young man.

The next memory disturbed them even more. It showed a young Tom Riddle meeting with his uncle, Morfin Gaunt. Morfin was even more unhinged than he was in the first memory. It confirmed the death of Marvolo and that Merope had taken the locket when she had left to run off with Tom Riddle, Sr. They looked at one more memory before taking a break. This one was of a group of Hogwarts students and, apparently, a professor.

"Who's that?" asked Harry.

"Horace Slughorn. He was the Potions professor when we were at Hogwarts," supplied Remus.

"This must be the one Albus told us about being incomplete and needing to talk to Horace about," said Sirius.

As the memory played on, they all could see the ring on Tom's hand, confirming that he had come into its possession sometime between the two memories. When Tom stayed behind to talk to the professor, they could see even then, he had a smooth way of operating. His flattery of Slughorn was almost sugary sweet, but it served to get him the information he wanted. They heard Riddle ask Slughorn about horcruxes. Then the memory filled with fog for a bit then heard Slughorn say he didn't know anything about horcruxes. That confirmed the memory had been tampered with.

"Well, he didn't take Riddle's question too well, did he?" asked Sirius.

"No he didn't," agreed Remus.

"So what do we do now?" asked Harry.

"We need to have a chat with Horace. I'll see if he can meet with us the morning of the thirty-first since that's the best time we have while you're home, Harry."

"Why do I need to be there?" asked the messy-haired teen.

"If you remember the discussion when we were talking to Albus, Slughorn likes to be around influential people. Amelia was going to try to meet with him but she's been a bit too busy with all the trials and trying to get the Ministry back into shape. I hate to use you in this way, pup, but having the Boy Who Lived wanting to meet with him should get us what we want."

"OK. I can live with that," said Harry.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm getting a bit hungry. Why don't we have an early lunch? There are only two more memories to view, so we should be able to get them out of the way before we have to get ready to go to the Greengrass'."

Once again they had a quick lunch of soup and sandwiches before returning to the library to view the last two memories. Sirius poured the next memory into the pensieve and they all dove in. This one took place in the home of a fat little old witch named Hepzibah but never mentioned her last name. Her house could have passed for a cross between a museum and a trinket shop. This one showed Tom Riddle as a young man who was representing Borgin & Burkes. After some socializing and repartee' about some goblin made armor, she had her elf bring in two boxes. Inside the box was Hufflepuff's cup. She then brought out another which had Slytherin's locket. After that, the memory dissolved.

"Well, now we know where he got the locket and the cup. Did anyone else see Riddle's eyes turn red?" asked Sirius.

"He looked scary then; I'd hate to see what he looked like later," said Harry.

"Yes, even then he could be very persuasive," added Remus.

"Well, who's ready for the finale?" asked Sirius?

Everyone agreed, so he poured the last one into the basin. This apparently was a memory of Dumbledore's. It showed his office, quite similar to what it had been when Harry had last seen it. There was a knock, then a man entered. They all recognized him, but Harry had the first comment, "Ewww! What did he do to himself?"

"Apparently he'd already started his transition to becoming Voldemort," said Sirius as Tom then confirmed his "new" name.

They watched the discussion between the two powerful wizards. Riddle's casual admission of delving into the realm of dark magic was frightening. The conversation finally got around to the subject of the visit – Riddle's pursuit of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. They laughed when Dumbledore said he was friendly with the barman at the Hog's Head since it was his brother. After watching the banter back and forth, Riddle finally left – without the DADA position.

Remus said, "That was the last time a DADA professor stayed more than one year and why they say the position is cursed."

"Typical Riddle; if I can't have it, nobody else can either. Sounds like a three-year-old!" said Sirius.

"So that is the last of the memories. We never saw anything about Ravenclaw's diadem. I wonder how Dumbledore figured that one out," said Harry.

"Well, it seems to track along with the other items of the Founders. You already know that Gryffindor's sword is not one, otherwise the basilisk venom would have destroyed it. Perhaps we can talk with the Grey Lady and see if she will tell us where it is. Maybe after we've found the ring and can assure her we've taken care of all the others she'll be more forthcoming," said Sirius.

"Maybe Professor Flitwick could talk to her?" asked Harry.

"Maybe, but I'd rather confine this search to only those who absolutely must know. I'm going to talk to Bill Weasley and see how long he's going to be here. I'd like to take him with me when I go look for the Gaunt shack," said Sirius.

"If he is not available, then I will go with you. I would feel better having an Unspeakable with us if that's the case," said Remus.

"Point taken. I promise I will not go alone. Now, Harry and I have to go get all dressed up while Remus here gets to laze around and make fun of us," smirked Sirius.

"I will not be 'lazing around' as you say. I still have quite a bit of marking to do before school resumes."

This time they had a floo time to arrive at the party. Sirius sent Harry first then followed quickly behind. Apparently Harry was getting better at flooing since he was standing up when he arrived. While Harry had met Lord Greengrass at Minister Bones' reception, they had not had much time to talk. Lord Greengrass politely inquired about Harry's year at Hogwarts so far, hoping that this year had been a bit less eventful than the previous two. Harry assured him it had with the exception of the issues surrounding the former headmaster. Sirius again took him around and introduced him to some people who had not been at Amelia's reception. Several of them were other Board of Governors members. Once that was done, Sirius sent Harry over to visit with his friends. They were mostly the same group, but Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis, Slytherins in his year, were also there. Harry hadn't had any issues with either of these so they were able to have a relatively pleasant discussion. Since several of them were from their Ancient Runes study group, there was some talk about their holiday homework. They were surprised to hear that Harry had completed his already. He explained about his more than full schedule so he took advantage of the "free" time he had earlier in the week. Pansy Parkinson had decided there was strength in numbers with her fellow Slytherins so she also joined the group, even if it was on the periphery.

The youngsters were talking about their plans for the rest of the holidays when Sirius came over. Harry introduced him to his fellow third years that he'd not yet met as well as to Oliver Wood, his Quidditch captain. Harry hadn't had that opportunity after the first Quidditch match. Since it was now common knowledge that he was an animagus, there were several questions about that process, especially by Oliver and Roger Davies. Sirius made sure to emphasize that they needed to be at least fifth year before they tried and suggested if they were interested they talk with Headmistress McGonagall. While her plate was quite full, she may be able to give them the appropriate references to begin with since Sirius had done the transformation without the proper guidance. However, if she approved, and they had their parents' permission, Sirius would consider tutoring them over the summer break. That got a lot of discussion going.

Finally, it was time to leave and Harry was quite ready. After thanking Lord and Lady Greengrass for the invitation, they told them they looked forward to seeing them again on New Year's Day. Returning directly to Black Hall this time, (Padfoot's Pad was a one-time use password) they were quick to get out of their formal robes and into something more comfortable. Remus asked about their visit and was happy to have some company again.

"Harry, would you like to try the _Patronus Char_ m again? Perhaps not having that soul fragment in you may make a difference." Remus asked, secretly thinking the young wizard also had more happy memories to draw on as well.

"Yeah! That would be brilliant!" Harry pulled his wand from his new wand holster and closed his eyes for a few moments to pull up a happy memory. Thinking about how he felt on Christmas Day opening presents and the feeling of finally having a family, he gathered his thoughts and uttered " _Expecto Patronum_!" He heard the gasps of the other two wizards in the room so he opened his eyes to see a silvery dog of some sort standing in front of him.

It took them all a moment before he heard Sirius say, "Well that fits."

Harry opened his eyes to see huge dog staring at him, "So what is it?"

"Well, if I know my dogs correctly, I'd say this is an Otterhound. I think it fits you," said Sirius.

Harry had lost his concentration and the dog had disappeared. Encouraged to try again, this time he kept his eyes open and incanted the spell as he watched the thing spring from his wand and went quickly around the room searching for danger then slowly walked up to Harry. He reached out a hand as if to pet the dog, but there was just mist.

"Why an Otterhound?"

"They have great endurance, are inquisitive and are known for their perseverance. It's also somewhat rare. They also have a bit of a shaggy coat," said Sirius, looking at the mop that was Harry's hair.

"Perhaps I should search for another boggart, Harry?" asked Remus.

"I would like to try it some time."

"I have no doubt you would kick that boggart Dementor back to Azkaban in no time, pup," said Sirius.

Lily had to get her contribution in, "You will do no such thing Remus John Lupin! I will not have my son subjected to those foul things, even if it is a boggart!"

Remus gave Harry a wink, then said, "Of course, Lily. What was I thinking?"

OoOoOoOoOo

Monday morning found the Black household up early. With the auction starting at eight, Griphook had asked them to arrive by half seven so he could escort them into the viewing area of the auction. They would be able to see, but not participate, in the auction as well as not be seen by the bidders. Again they arrived via the bank's private floo. All of the bidders were arriving either on their own or via Gringotts-issued portkeys. When they arrived, there was already a large crowd assembled. Griphook told them that this was the largest auction ever hosted by Gringott's and Director Ragnok was quite pleased with the draw. As the basilisk venom and fangs were being sold individually, they would be auctioned off in between the other items. Griphook introduced them to the auctioneer, Stouttongue, who was also interested in the young man who had given him such a windfall; the goblin would also profit from the auction.

From their vantage point in the hidden viewing room, the three wizards were surprised by the sheer number of people present. It was a veritable convention of Potions Masters as well as armorers. One prominent Potions Master was missing – Severus Snape. Apparently he was quite satisfied with the gift of venom he'd received. There were also chefs and restaurant owners from around the world as basilisk meat and tongue were considered a delicacy in some parts of the world. There was also a smattering of researchers included. Griphook told them that those bidders from countries not served by a Gringott's branch were required to bring a certified letter of credit before they would be allowed to bid. The letter stated the maximum amount of credit available and was charmed so that the owner would not be able to bid above that amount. Promptly at eight, Stouttongue stepped up to the lectern and proceeded with the instructions.

"You have been provided with a bid sheet and bid number as well as the instructions for the auction. When the auction begins, you will use your bid number to indicate your interest. Bidding will continue until only one number remains. Due to the amount of venom and number of fangs available, each bidder is restricted to 10 lots each." There was some grumbling among the participants, but this information had been furnished to each of them when they registered for the auction.

"I will start with the first 100 cups of venom and half of the small fangs, then intersperse them among the other lots. If everyone is ready, we will begin."

After the introduction, it was a blur of activity. The first 100 cups of venom and 100 fangs went quickly, although it took over three hours to get through them. Then came the ten lots of old skin, another 100 cups of venom and the remaining 100 small fangs. The Goblins had put a time charm on the room so that while it appeared it had been eight hours of activity; it had only been four in actuality. By the end of the first four hours, they'd gotten through the old and new skin, two hundred cups of venom and all of the small fangs. At that point, Harry, Sirius and Remus departed. They went first for lunch then to meet with Gerald. Harry had sent him a letter with the issues he wanted to discuss with the solicitor so he wouldn't be caught unawares.

"Gentlewizards, so good to see you again! I hope you all had a happy Christmas!"

After the nods of assent, they got down to business.

"I know we discussed this back in the summer, Harry, but I've finally been able to track down all of the sources of the books and other paraphernalia using your likeness. I suspect you can guess where my investigation led me."

The three wizards answered as one, "Dumbledore."

"Exactly. I've sent official letters to each of the publishers and manufacturers of these items and all have been removed from the market. As to the proceeds collected, I've been able to recoup approximately half of what was collected over the years. The rest Dumbledore apparently spent."

"Well, that's better than nothing, I guess," said Harry.

"I've also arranged for each business involved to post a very visible ad in the _Daily Prophet_ explaining that these items were, in fact, not sanctioned and are, at best, a fairy tale, in regards to the books. These will be published in the New Year's Day edition."

Sirius remarked, "I'm sure Barnabas is quite happy for that little windfall."

"I'm sure he is. I let him know who were required to publish an ad and asked him to let me know who hadn't by New Year's Eve. I think I saw galleon signs in his eyes."

"I guess that's the best I can hope for. At least there won't be people coming up to me telling me they had read all about me in some book," Harry said, distastefully.

Remus gave a knowing smile, "I would hazard a guess that this was Hermione?"

"Yes, and, to some extent, Ginny. She had fallen in love with the idea of the Boy Who Lived even before I met her."

Good! Let's move along to your questions about the house in Godric's Hollow. I checked with the Ministry and there was never a formal agreement to recognize the house as a national monument. Apparently Albus placed a stasis charm and an anti-theft ward on it immediately after the attack and renewed them annually. I suspect with his death those wards have weakened considerably if they haven't failed completely. I let Amelia know that we were going to be discussing this today and that we will probably resume control of the property. She said that was not a problem as they had turned an old war monument in the city square into a tribute to the Potters that was only visible to magical people. I would suggest you go there at your earliest convenience and place your own wards on the property. You can decide what you want to do with the property inside."

"Why don't we take a look at it after we leave here, pup? Or, we could leave a little later and look at it first thing in the morning?" asked Sirius.

"Either way, that's fine."

"Perhaps Bill Weasley would help us with the wards," said Remus.

"I think that would be a good idea. What do you think, Harry?"

"That's good, but only as long as he lets us pay him appropriately." He knew if he didn't make that stipulation, the eldest Weasley child would probably do like the rest of his family and be happy to do it as a favor.

"After we are through here, I'll have Remus take you back and I'll go on to the Burrow and talk to Bill. I need to talk to him about that other issue as well. Then the four of us can go there first thing in the morning."

"Great! That's another thing off the list."

"Now, the final thing you asked me about was the numerous gifts and offers you received over time. I compared the letters you received with the list of items you inherited over the years that Remus gave me and found that most of them have been fulfilled. There are a few where the benefactors are still alive and I've contacted them as appropriate. There are five individuals who are still alive that have made you the beneficiary of their wills. All of them are even more adamant that they still wanted you to be their heir, especially after the issues brought up in Dumbledore's trial. None of these are large inheritances. There are two additional properties involved, but again, they are not large. One is in a Muggle neighborhood, and the other is near Ottery St. Catchpole."

"OK. Do you see anything I need to do about this then?"

"Not at the moment. I've told each individual involved to feel free to contact me at any time should there be any changes. As to the letters offering to subsidize apprenticeships and the likes, I've sent that information to Remus to answer for you as the Potter Steward."

"I just got the list before we left for the holidays. I've answered each one, politely declining their offer and thanking them for their consideration. They've all replied that should anything change; their offer still stands."

"I also took care of all of the betrothal offers, Harry," said Sirius, "I recognized quite a number of the names now that I've had a chance to talk with some of your school mates as well as Remus explaining who the others were. Hopefully, with all of the publicity over the past few weeks there won't be any more of them."

"I think that leads us to the last of the items; the reparations from the trials. Let's start first with Umbridge. As you may be aware, she was to split her property between you and the five others she had blackmailed. She had accumulated quite a bit of gold from them so the goblins fulfilled the requirement for restitution. There was about 50,000 galleons left which has been transferred to your vault."

"Can we have Gringotts set up another vault for all of these reparations to go into as well as the proceeds from the basilisk sale? I'd like to keep all of it separate from my Potter vaults."

"Sure, but I think Griphook is a bit preoccupied right now."

"Oh, right. Well, maybe later before I go back to Hogwarts?"

"I think that's a good idea. I may do that too. Put all of the reparations I've gotten in a separate place as well. I'll make an appointment with Silvergrip after you're back at school."

"Now, while this next item really only applies to Sirius, I thought you all might like to discuss this. The Crouch estate is a bit more entailed as it includes more than just gold. I've spoken with the Ministry's acquisitions department over the split. We agree to pretty much split things down the middle, however there is the matter of the Crouch's elf, Winky. The Ministry, naturally, has no need for an elf, so I told them I would speak with you about her."

"We could make her a joint Potter-Black elf, letting her work at any of the properties we both have. Perhaps assign her to Cassie for now?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Until we have the property sold, she is currently serving as security for the property," added Gerald.

"That makes sense. We'll have her stay there until it's sold, then have her go to Cassie," said Sirius.

With that agreement, Sirius called for Winky, "Master be calling Winky?" the little elf looked up at Sirius.

"Winky, I am Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and this is my son, Harry Potter-Black. I am now your Master and would like to perform the bonding ritual."

"But I belong to Master Crouch!"

"Master Crouch will not be returning. He has asked me to take care of you now."

"Master not be coming back? What happened to Master Crouch? I not felt his passing."

"Master Crouch has been sent to Azkaban and will not be returning."

"Oh No! Master Crouch and Master Barty are both in Azkaban?"

"No, Master Barty was sentenced to be Kissed and is no longer with us. He is now lying beside your former mistress. Master Crouch is in Azkaban which is why you have not felt his passing."

Before the elf could go into her full wail of failing her Masters, Sirius stopped her.

"While you are now my elf, I would like you to bond with my son. I only have one property with one elf and not enough to keep two elves busy. Master Harry has several properties that can always use another elf and is assuming others as well. You will be busy."

Although she hung her head, she said "Of course, Master."

Harry remembered what he had done with Dobby and got down to the elf's level so that he could look her in the eyes.

"I, Harry James Potter-Black, take Winky to be my house elf."

"I, Winky, take Harry James Potter-Black to be my Master," she said. They were both surrounded by a light that quickly faded.

"Winky, I want you to accept any orders from either Lord Black or Remus Lupin to be an order from me."

"Yes, Master."

"I will be going back to Hogwarts as will Remus, so if you need anything, I want you to ask Lord Black. Until he needs you, you are to stay at the Crouch house and take care of it just like you have been doing. Once the house has been sold, Sirius will take you to Potter Manor where you will work under the instruction of Cassie, the head Potter elf. Do you have any questions?"

"No, Master."

"Thank you, Winky. You can return to the Crouch house. Make sure you have plenty to eat and you are not to punish yourself. Tomorrow I'll be at Potter Manor and will call you there and instruct you and Cassie further."

"Yes, Master." Then the little elf popped away.

"Well, that went better than I thought it might. That just leaves us with Dumbledore's estate. Half goes to you and fifteen percent to Sirius. I've spoken to Aberforth and told him that we have no intentions of laying claim to the family home. While he thanked me, he said that no one had lived in that house since his sister's death. Albus had spent all of his time at Hogwarts and he lived over his bar. There has been some talk of establishing a museum to Albus due to his many good deeds. I'm not sure how that would be received given all that has happened in the past few months."

"Let me talk to Minerva as well as the Board of Governors and see what they would like to do. I suspect most of Albus' property was in the form of books and other paraphernalia," said Sirius.

"Actually, he had quite a bit of gold in his vault. I was surprised myself when I asked Gringotts for an accounting."

"Well, it can all go into the Muggleborn Scholarship fund for all I care. I don't want a knut from him," said Harry bitterly.

"Well, we need to decide just how much we want to put into that scholarship fund and cap it there, then we can come up with some other ideas," said Sirius.

"I really think we should come up with a wizard primary school. How much would it take to start one?"

"I don't know, but Gerald and I will look into it. Now, let's get back to the task at hand," said Sirius.

Gerald said that since all of Dumbledore's estate was going to be divided between them and those associated with Hogwarts they could probably decide on a fair distribution among themselves and let him know, then he'd take care of the legalities.

"I think that's all I had for you, Harry. Did you have anything else for me?"

"Another thing to think about is a war orphans fund. I don't know what was done for them after the end of the war, but I'm sure there are many like me and Susan Bones who lost their parents. Can't we do something for them as well? I know it won't make up for their loss, but shouldn't they also get some gain as well?"

"Let me see just how many we are talking about first, then we can talk about options."

"OK."

"Well, if that's all, then I will see you on New Year's."

Having finished all of their business in Diagon Alley, Sirius went to talk to Bill Weasley while Harry and Remus went back to Black Hall for the night. With the full moon the next night, Remus was tired and his temper was running a bit short. Harry told Sirius that he'd forego going to Austria if he wanted to keep Moony company, but both Remus and Sirius would hear nothing of it. There would be plenty of full moons to come. Remus would do his transformation at Potter Hall since it had the appropriate wards. Minerva would add additional ones just to be sure and Dobby would also keep watch. Minerva would come back in the morning to check on him and, if necessary, send Poppy to check him over. Remus had gone back to Hogwarts to get the Wolfsbane from Severus.

After breakfast, Bill arrived and they all went to Godric's Hollow. Some of the wards were beginning to fade, but they quickly renewed the Muggle repelling charms as well as the anti-theft charms. Bill added some additional ones to ensure the building's structural integrity as well as warding it against fire, water and weather damage. The they went inside and asked Cassie to show them where the ward stone was. Surprisingly, there wasn't one.

Bill knew this was a common occurrence, "Well, we can work without one. Except for old manors, most homes these days don't use ward stones. We can set up an access ward to allow you to control who can enter, Harry."

"That sounds good. Do we need to give elves access?"

"Not necessarily, but it doesn't hurt."

Harry called Cassie and had her established as the one to give the elves access. She was appalled at the condition of the place, but they assured her that they would be repairing it soon. They took a quick look around before going their separate ways.

Sirius and Harry then went to Potter Manor. Cassie assured them that Jillie was ready for them and that she did not need another elf to assist with the reception preparations, however Harry insisted on calling Winky and telling Cassie she was to use her as needed. Harry took the portkey and soon they were both in Austria. Jillie greeted them and quickly showed them around. This was similar to the property in Sicily. The chalet gave the impression of a quiet little cabin on the mountain. It could house the Weasleys and the Grangers and still have room to spare. Harry tried to give Sirius the Master Suite, but he refused, saying this was Harry's house. He chose a comfortable bedroom nearby.

Again they were in one of the magical parts of the country. Austria had no restrictions on underage magic, so Harry was free to use his wand if he wanted to. That meant warming charms as needed if he decided to try skiing or some other winter sport. Hermione said something about skiing before; he'd have to ask her about it later. The chalet was near the city of Bludenz and Montafon valley. The main magical business area was in Vienna, but there was also a smaller one near Salzburg similar to Hogsmeade. As they were very close to Switzerland, they could also go to Zurich. All were accessible by floo and their Gringotts keys could be used or they could use their Gringotts-issued credit cards. Jillie showed them the list of common floo addresses available.

Before going out to visit the area, Harry took care of one bit of business first – updating the ward access. He had already done this at Potter Villa and they had discovered that, because of the blood adoption, Sirius could also update it as well. Sirius had taken some time earlier to visit the travel agency in Diagon Alley and picked up some brochures for the area. There was a public floo in the city in an obscure café that they took. They also discovered one of the treasures the town was famous for; Milka Chocolate. While Honeydukes produced quite fine chocolate, this was nothing like the kind they found at the factory store. Both wizards bought up quite a bit to take back to their friends (or, in Sirius' case, horde for himself).

They decided to head back to England after breakfast the next morning. They were both concerned about Remus plus Sirius wanted some time to review the agenda for the Wizengamot meeting the next day. They checked one more time with Cassie to make sure she didn't need anything. Harry left most of his stash of chocolate with her to put in each guest's room as a welcoming present, but took some for his dormmates.

They first went to Potter Hall to check on Remus. They found him asleep in the sitting room with a book on his chest. Dobby flew in when he heard the floo flare and hugged Harry by the legs.

"Harry and Master Doggie be back! Did they have a good time on their trip?"

Harry smiled and told the little elf that they had.

"Harry's Mistress Minnie came by and brought Mistress Poppy with her to check on Master Wolfie."

Sirius asked, "And was Remus hurt?"

"Not that Dobby knows. Dobby made sure Master Wolfie couldn't hurt himself."

Sirius was concerned, "Did you go through the wards, Dobby?"

Dobby's ears drooped and he looked at the floor, "Dobby didn't want Harry's Master Wolfie to be hurt so I put him in a bind until the sun came up. He growled a lot, but he not hurt himself."

Well that was something new. Maybe they should have Dobby check on Remus while he was at Hogwarts. He also needed to tell Minerva that house elves could get past her wards just in case one of the Hogwarts elves thought about going in to clean Remus' quarters.

"Thank you Dobby." Sirius then snuck up beside the sleeping man and let off a loud bang from his wand. It was funny to see Remus jump up with his wand at the ready and a curse on his lips. Seeing it was just his best friend and nephew, he sat back down.

"Padfoot! You nearly scared the life out of me! I wasn't expecting you back until this afternoon."

"We thought we'd come back a bit early. I need to do a few things before the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow. Oh! I brought you something!" he then tossed a bar of chocolate to his friend. Remus took a bite of it and the look on his face was all they needed to know.

"You did buy the factory that made this, didn't you?"

"No, but I'm going to talk to Silvergrip about just that very thing. Now, I'm going back to Black Hall to take care of some business. Harry, you're free to stay here and come back for dinner with Remus or you can go with me now."

"I think I'll go now. Don't we need to send Hermione the portkey for Friday?"

"No, their invitation serves as the portkey for them. It's set to activate at two. The Weasleys are flooing over at that time as well. I told Cassie we'd be there for lunch if we finished with Slughorn in time, but no later than one. I'm also going to send a message to Griphook that we'd like to meet with him after the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow. By then he should know how much the basilisk was worth." Sirius was waiting to see the boy's reaction when he found out the amount. The conservative estimate placed it at in excess of five million galleons.

Sirius had picked up a letter that had arrived while they were gone (personally delivered by the Hogwarts Headmistress) and an evil grin appeared on his face. Harry looked at him confused.

"What's that, Sirius?"

"This, my son, are your grades for first term."

Harry had never seen a Hogwarts grade report. If the Dursleys had ever gotten one, they'd never told him. He suspected they'd burned it the minute it arrived.

"So do I have to wait, or are you going to open it?"

Sirius played with the young man's thoughts for a few minutes by very slowly opening the envelope and withdrawing the enclosed letter. Then he took his time reading the results. Finally, Harry couldn't take any more and attempted to wrest the missive from his father's hand, but Sirius was expecting this and quickly moved it out of the way.

"Patience, pup. I want to savor this moment." Deciding he could no longer torture his son, he handed the letter over.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

First Term Grade Report

Harry James Potter-Black

Third Year

Class Rank: 8 of 38

 **Pass Grades:**

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

 **Fail Grades**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Ancient Runes O

Astronomy E

Care of Magical Creatures O

Charms O

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Herbology E

History of Magic A

Potions E

Transfiguration O

Harry held up the report and danced around the room. "I got an E in Potions!

"That you did, pup. And I'm sure Snape didn't give that out easily either."

He couldn't wait to tell his parents too. Dobby brought in three bottles of butterbeer to add to the celebration.

"Well, with Binns gone, I expect to see that History grade improve this term," said Sirius.

"As long as they can teach something other than Goblin wars, I'm sure I can."

With that over, the three wizards returned to Black Hall for lunch then went their separate ways. Even though Harry would see his friends in two days, he went ahead and wrote them both letters, properly thanking them for the gifts he'd received. He also added a special thanks to Hermione's mum for the help in getting the gifts for his father and uncle. He also assured Hermione that he'd finished his homework. He'd save the discussion over grades for when they met in person. Harry went over to give the letters to Hedwig. She and Fawkes now shared an enlarged perch. This had magically happened and not something Harry had planned. He was going to get Kreacher to get Fawkes' regular perch from Hogwarts, but this was what had appeared. Apparently, both of his familiars got along well together.


	61. Wizengamot, Part III

**A/N: I apologize in advance, but this will be my last chapter posted until the end of July ( 5 weeks). I've got a travel schedule that's insane topped by an unexpected trip this past weekend. I will not be abandoning the story so don't even think I might. I will just be without my laptop on those trips (one is a cruise in Canada). Thank you for your understanding ahead of time! And now, the trial of Lucius Malfoy!**

61\. Wizengamot, Part III

With this being a holiday, many of the other heirs were also going to be at this meeting. As Harry was now heir to two Houses, he had a little more standing among his, otherwise, peers. The Clerk of the Wizengamot had actually set aside a section for them. There was one heir who was not with the group and that was Draco Malfoy. He and his mother were sitting in another area, Harry had Neville on one side of him and Susan Bones on the other. Oliver Wood and Cedric Diggory were nearby as was Hannah Abbott and Roger Davies. Bill Weasley was also in the group as the Malfoy trial impacted his family. This would be the first Wizengamot meeting that Harry would attend that he didn't have a vested interest in. Well, other than seeing Malfoy pay for what he did to Ginny.

Sirius had told him there was another short session scheduled for the day. Other than the trial, Ludo Bagman would report on the plans for the Quidditch World Cup and Tiberius Ogden would report on the ICW meeting held earlier in the month. Lord Ogden entered the chamber first and then Madam Bones. She would remain in her Acting Minister role this time and Rufus Scrimgeour would handle the prosecution of Malfoy. Promptly at ten, Lord Ogden banged his gavel down and called the meeting to order, "The Wizengamot is now in session. All ye who have business before this body rise and state your case. Now, before we begin, does the Clerk have any new notices that need to be published since the last meeting?"

The Clerk rose and answered, "Chief Warlock, Madam Augusta Longbottom has asked to address the Wizengamot prior to conducting the scheduled business."

Lord Ogden nodded at Madam Longbottom, "Madam Longbottom, the floor is yours."

"Thank you. Chief Warlock, Acting Minister Bones, members of the Wizengamot, it is a long-standing custom to recognize our members upon the birth of child or grandchild, especially when the child is designated as the Heir to that house. Today I am happy to report that the House of Black deserves such recognition. Lord Sirius Black has formally adopted Harry James Potter, who shall henceforth be known as Harry James Potter-Black, and has named him Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. As Heir Potter-Black now has an adult family member above the age of consent, I would like to yield my proxy for the House of Potter to Lord Sirius Black."

There was loud applause after the pronouncement which caught both Sirius and Harry off guard. Neither were aware of this "tradition." They both noticed the faint smile on Madam Longbottom's face. The old dowager had pranked Sirius Black! Sirius then made a hurried decision and rose, "Madam Longbottom, the long tradition of alliance between the Houses of Potter and Longbottom is well known. I appreciate the recognition of my adoption of Harry, however, I do not wish to interfere with the wishes of James and Lily Potter that you be the proxy for the House of Potter until such time as Heir Potter-Black assumes the Head of House Potter."

Apparently this was the right thing to say as the entire Wizengamot again began clapping. When this happened, Harry turned beet red, earning him playful shoves by those sitting around him. Once that ambush was complete, the Wizengamot got on with the business at hand.

First up was Lord Ogden's report on the semi-annual meeting of the ICW. There were numerous questions concerning the events leading to the death of Albus Dumbledore, but other than putting down several rumors and misinformation, he had declined to comment, allowing the trial and its results to stand on its own merits. They then voted on a new Supreme Mugwump and deputy. The current deputy, Olivia Whetstone of Australia, was elected to the top position. The new deputy was an Egyptian wizard named Runihura Sudi. This was a surprise to the members as there had been an English Chief Mugwump or deputy for the past two hundred years. This was an indication of what the world thought of the leadership in England.

The second item that was discussed was the proposed Tri-Wizard Tournament. It was a consensus of members that the tournament be cancelled for now but left the door open for further discussions. The ICW seemed to be more confident of the plans for the Quidditch World Cup to be held in August. Ludo Bagman had gone with Lord Ogden and briefed them on the plans. He then presented the same briefing to the Wizengamot. There was a projection of the site showing the locations of the pitch, campsites, portkey arrival points and apparition points. It showed the locations of the nearest Muggle towns and how they were going to avoid detection. He was working with a muggleborn wizard in the English Civil Aviation Authority to have the area designated as a "no-fly zone" during the period to prevent muggles from accidently seeing the area from the air.

One thing that came up somewhat unexpectedly was the motion by Lord Greengrass to set elections for a new Minister for Magic. He proposed that nominations be accepted at the January Wizengamot meeting with the general election occurring on the first of March. All witches and wizards 17 years old or older were eligible to vote unless they were in Azkaban or in a holding cell awaiting trial. Voting sites would be in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Sirius offered 93 Diagon Alley as a location for the elections. It would provide a location that was central to the Alley as well as afford them sufficient space. The only requirement for someone to be nominated for Minister was to be a wizard or witch in good standing. They must be nominated and accept the nomination to be placed on the ballot.

The final order of business was a request from Lord Ogden for an update on the status of Hogwarts. With Dumbledore gone, there were questions floating around about how the school was doing. Griselda Marchbanks said she would ask Headmistress McGonagall to attend the next meeting.

With that business over, it came time for Lucius Malfoy to be brought in. He looked completely different from the man who had gone into custody six weeks prior. He still had the poise of a pureblood, but the fire in his eyes had dimmed. Lord Cornfoot stood when Lucius was brought in and assumed his position at the defendant's table. Giving a nod to Narcissa, he indicated he was ready to proceed.

Rufus Scrimgeour took his place as the prosecutor and began, "Madam Bones, Lord Ogden, members of the Wizengamot, Lucius Malfoy is charged with the following crimes: possession and transfer of a dark object with intent to cause harm; possession of multiple items of a dark nature with the potential of causing grave damage; possession and transfer of an artifact belonging to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named causing the recipient to become possessed by this dark wizard's spirit (at that pronouncement, a loud gasp could be heard throughout the chamber); possessing the dark mark as a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; false testimony to the Wizengamot; and bribery of a ministry official. How do you plead to these charges?"

"Not guilty," stated Lucius.

"Lords and Ladies, I would like to provide a memory of the search of Malfoy Manor and the number of dark artifacts in there. Some of them had been outlawed many decades previously."

That some members of both the Wizengamot and the audience recognized some of them and what they represented did not bode well for him. They did not bother to show the wards surrounding the room as nobody would hold protecting his property against him. Probably others in the room had similar wards somewhere in their house. While they had had Snape dispose of the potions, the Department of Mysteries had taken most of the other artifacts in for study prior to destroying them as well. There were some they'd given straight to the goblins for destruction. When that was done, Rufus continued on to the questioning of Lucius.

"Auror Shacklebolt, please administer the Veritaserum."

"I wish to examine the bottle to ensure the seal is intact," stated Lord Cornfoot.

Rufus nodded his head and Kingsley took the vial over for it to be checked before breaking the seal and administering three drops to Lucius. This was another in the batch that Severus Snape had made prior to Dumbledore's trial, which was a variation which negated any attempts to fool it. After waiting the prescribed minute, Rufus began the questioning.

"Please state your name."

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy."

The questioning continued along the same vein as his initial interrogation. When Rufus asked him if he'd given the cursed diary to Ginevra Weasley, there was an audible gasp throughout the chamber. Endangering an old, pureblood family such as the Weasleys was just not done unless you wanted a blood feud initiated. Once that was established, Rufus then asked him the two critical questions as to whether he was a Death Eater and whether he had been under the _Imperius_ curse. As expected, total pandemonium broke out in the chamber, both from the Wizengamot and the gallery. Lord Ogden finally managed to regain control and warned the gallery that he would have Aurors remove anyone starting another outbreak.

Lord Parkinson then spoke up, "I believe those two questions constitute double jeopardy and cannot be accepted."

Rufus and Amelia had expected that to happen and Rufus had a ready counter, "Lord Malfoy was never tried for any crimes he may have committed as a suspected Death Eater. It was accepted that he was under the _Imperius_ curse and no further questioning or investigation was pursued."

While others wanted to refute that claim, they couldn't, and watched as their futures went down with Malfoy's. Lucius was next asked to name other Death Eaters and whether or not they had also been under the _Imperius_ curse as they had claimed. Going down with Malfoy were Nott, Parkinson, Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, Yaxley, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Dolohov, Greyback, Avery, and Mcnair. Snape's name came up, but both Harry and Sirius stood up for him as being a spy for the Light side. Rufus stopped the trial to allow the Aurors present to arrest those that were in the chamber. A message was sent to the Auror Office for all on-duty Aurors to report to the holding cells. Proudfoot was delegated the responsibility of sending Aurors out to arrest the others that were not present and organize the searches. It was going to be another long day.

Once the questioning resumed, Lucius was asked about raids he participated in. After naming a handful, Rufus decided he had enough to send him away to Azkaban to keep his sister-in-law company for the rest of his life.

It didn't take long for the Wizengamot to decide on his fate. He was ordered to be stripped of his magic, but then he was to be sent to a muggle prison for the remainder of his life. They also awarded damages to Ginny Weasley in the amount of 200,000 galleons, reimbursement to the Ministry for Gringotts' curse breaker services in the amount of 50,000 galleons, and one half of his remaining fortune forfeited to the Ministry. Amelia was going to use that money to beef up the Auror Office among other projects.

A surprise motion by one of the families thought to be dark was to have all suspected Death Eaters tried using Veritaserum regardless of their blood status. Over the years, pureblood families had tried to restrict its use on them and had, by and large, managed to do so. This had been especially prevalent during the last war. It was now quite evident why that had been done; the majority of the so-called 'dark' members were those who had just been implicated by Malfoy's testimony. This measure was passed almost unanimously. They also set a date to try all of those named today on January 20th, a week prior to the next Wizengamot meeting on January 27th.

Once the session ended there was quite a bit of discussion about the proceedings. Arthur was also in the gallery so he would go and report back to the rest of the Weasleys. Bill quickly went to join his father. Harry was quite happy for them. He looked over to the place where the other Malfoys had been seated but saw they had quickly vacated the chamber. Oh well, that was something for Sirius to handle.

OoOoOoOoOo

After leaving the Ministry, Sirius and Harry floo'd over to the Leaky Cauldron then worked their way to Gringotts. Sirius had sent Remus a Patronus message so he quickly joined them. They did not notice the salute they were given by the guards in front of the bank. They were quickly escorted to Griphook's office so they could get an update on the sale of the basilisk among other things. The predatory look on Griphook's face let them know there had been much profit made that day.

"Mr. Potter-Black, Lord Black, Mr. Lupin, I have an accounting of the proceeds from the sale of the basilisk for you. To summarize, the total proceeds were just under 8 million galleons. Gringotts' profits were 2.3 million galleons. After subtracting the average value of the items you took from the basilisk, your net proceeds were just over 5.1 million galleons."

Harry was totally shocked by the amounts the Goblin was talking about."

Remus stepped in, "Severus told you it was worth a fortune."

"Well, pup, how does it feel to be one of the richest wizards in all of England? I think you've got me beat now!"

"Yes, this more than doubled your net worth, Mr. Potter-Black. Now the question is, what would you like to do with it?" asked Griphook.

Harry reached in a pocket and pulled out a sheet of parchment that he'd made notes on, "Well, one thing I'd like to do is open a separate vault for the proceeds of the basilisk and another one for any other wealth I received from the trials that were just held. I plan to use that for good things to happen to others. I want to take the money I got from Umbridge and Dumbledore and set up a foundation for the children who lost one or both of their parents to the war with Voldemort. Mr. Howe is researching the exact number. Until we can decide that, I'd like you to do what you can to increase its value."

"Very good."

"The next thing I want to do is give some of the proceeds from the basilisk to those who were petrified. I think a hundred thousand galleons each should be enough, don't you?"

Sirius was shocked by the amount, but he wasn't going to argue with his son; it was his money, "I think that's more than enough."

Griphook asked, "Do you have the names of those harmed?"

"Yes. Almost all are muggleborn, so I don't think they have vaults. Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Penelope Clearwater, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. I don't think Nearly Headless Nick or Mrs. Norris can use it. Well, maybe give Mr. Filch twenty-five thousand since he lost her for some of the time."

Remus was now the one shocked, "Are you sure, Harry?"

"None of them asked to be attacked. Even Ginny wasn't. It's all Malfoy's fault. I know he's supposed to give money to Ginny, and he really should be the one paying all of them, but the basilisk fund can do it."

"Were there any other specific requests, Mr. Potter-Black?"

"Yes. I want to buy all new brooms for Hogwarts. The things they have are deadly. Plus, it shouldn't be the broom that determines the outcome of the Quidditch games. I want to get eight Firebolts for each house's Quidditch team. Then I want to get thirty more brooms for Madam Hooch to use to teach the students to fly as well as allow students to fly when they have some free time. Can you talk to the folks at Nimbus as well as the Firebolt folks for those, Sirius?"

"Sure. I'm sure they will all be eager to help out."

"Since I own some of both companies, I think you should be able to get a good deal on them. Then, when they're ready to be delivered, I want to make a formal presentation to Professor McGonagall. Once that's done, I want to be the first person to cast an _Incendio_ on the bonfire made by the old brooms. The student brooms don't need to be top of the line. Maybe they've got a bit of inventory of old Nimbus 2000s they want to sell cheap. If not, then I guess contact the folks at Cleansweep."

The two other wizards laughed at that mental image. The old brooms should have been replaced years ago.

"Which account do you want the brooms to come from, Mr. Potter-Black?" asked Griphook.

"Oh, the basilisk account! Since it happened at Hogwarts, I think they should benefit from it. If you know of anything else I could use it for, Sirius, let me know."

"I think that's a good start."

Remus had been quiet through this part of the discussion, but decided to put in an idea, "What about dedicating some to preserving the items in the Chamber?

"Oh yeah! Once we know what it's going to take to do that, I think that would be brilliant!"

"Your new History of Magic professor is also an archivist, so we should be able to use his talents in that area as well," said Sirius.

"You know who it's going to be?" asked Harry.

"Minerva gave us a name and his qualifications. He's originally from America. I'm sure he'll be introduced at the feast on Sunday," said Sirius.

"The other thing I wanted was to get an estimate for repairing the house in Godric's Hollow plus removing any property that's still there. Oh! And can you put some wards up so that people can see the house, but not trespass on it?"

"I can do that, said Sirius, "Remus, didn't you say Harry had a part ownership in a construction company?"

"He does. I can get you the name when I get back to Hogwarts. It does both muggle and wizard construction."

"I can get the elves to remove the furnishings. You might want to let Cassie know I may be asking for her help. I'm sure Dobby can probably do it by himself, but elves can get a little touchy about someone else ordering them around."

"Sure. We can do that tomorrow before everyone starts arriving."

"I will be watching for these transactions to come through and will ensure the appropriate accounts are debited. Will there be anything else?"

"No. Thank you Griphook. May your gold flow and your enemies quail before you," said Harry. Sirius had been teaching him about dealing with the goblins.

"Then if you would follow me please."

The three looked at each other but followed the goblin out. Once again they found themselves in a warren of tunnels until Griphook stopped at one door. It suddenly dawned on Sirius where they were, but he decided to keep his own counsel. He'd let the other two wizards be surprised at meeting with Director Ragnok.

They followed Griphook in where he knocked once on the inner door. A curt "Enter" was heard then Griphook ushered them inside then bowed deeply, "Director Ragnok, may I present Harry James Potter-Black, Lord Sirius Orion Black and Mr. Remus John Lupin."

"Thank you, Griphook; that will be all."

Griphook bowed again then departed. Ragnok motioned to three chairs that suddenly materialized. This startled Sirius since even he and Amelia hadn't been accorded that courtesy.

"Mr. Potter-Black, I asked Griphook to bring you to me the next time you visited him to give you the thanks of the Goblin Nation for allowing Gringotts to be responsible for the rendering and sale of the basilisk. There has never been a sale hosted by Gringotts that has brought in this much profit at one time."

The three wizards looked at each other in surprise.

"Thank you Director Ragnok. I didn't know I owned the basilisk until Mr. Tunwel said I could claim it and then I talked to Griphook about it. I had no idea it would bring in that much money though."

The head Goblin gave a strange sort of laugh, "Yes, well it's been a long time since a basilisk has been sighted, much less one of that size."

"I'm just glad it can't ever hurt anyone again."

"It has also been brought to my attention that you were able to summon and use the sword of Ragnuk the First in slaying the beast."

"Yes sir. Although at Hogwarts they call it the Sword of Gryffindor."

"I am aware of that as well. This sword is an important artifact in the history of the Goblin Nation. Legend has it that no one, be they wizard or goblin, can yield the sword unless they are pure of hearts and have the most honorable of intentions. It is referred to in our Nation as The Sword of Honor. When I was made aware of this fact, I wanted to give you my personal thanks. I am honored to now call you a Friend of the Goblin Nation along with your father and Steward. We will make the announcement on the bank floor as you depart."

"I hate to sound ungrateful, Director Ragnok, but can you explain what being a Friend of the Goblin Nation means?"

Sirius and Remus looked at each other in shock, both for the honor and for Harry's bold questioning of the head of Gringotts London.

"It is no matter, Lord Black. His question was asked in innocence and not meant to be disrespectful," said the amused Goblin, "Mr. Potter-Black, a Friend of the Goblin Nation is an honored position among all goblins. You will always receive immediate service when you walk into the bank. You will be served by the Head Teller unless you request the services of a specific teller. You may choose any account manager to handle your affairs. Your main Potter vault along with the Black vaults have been moved to the highest security vaults. You will receive the most favorable rates for any transaction you conduct with us. If at any time you have need of my services, all you need to do is request it and you will be brought to me immediately. An insult against you will be considered an insult against the Goblin Nation. Whatever you need that is within my power to grant is yours."

Harry was astounded at these words, "But Director Ragnok, I just pulled the sword out of the hat. I didn't do anything special."

"And that, Mr. Potter-Black, is what makes this all the more special. You have had riches dropped at your feet, adoration by many in the wizarding community, and yet, you still remain a humble young man. I look forward to working with you as the future progresses. Before we go to the bank floor to announce this, is there anything you wish to request? Are you satisfied with your service from Griphook?"

"Oh! Yes, sir! Griphook has been great. He's really looking out for me. I also can't thank Healer Sormot, Mr. Gorpog, Mr. Tunwel, Mr. Baflok, Mr. Reed and Mr. Weasley for the help they've given me as well. Mr. Darmok and his team who salvaged the basilisk were great to work with too!"

"Mr. Potter-Black, in the Goblin Nation, we do not use the honorifics of Mr. or Miss. Feel free to refer to us by our names, including myself."

"Then you should call me Harry."

"Now, shall we go and shake up some wizards and witches, along with a few goblins, Harry?"

Griphook had been told that once he brought Harry to his office, he was to sound the assembly notification. All goblins available were to come to the floor of the bank. An honor guard of four goblins was to be outside of the Director's office to escort them. Director Ragnok ushered them out of his office. When they opened the door, the four-goblin honor guard came to attention.

"Harry, if you would join me on my right. Lord Black and Mr. Lupin, please follow behind." The group marching smartly through Gringotts got the attention of those not already assembled who quickly followed behind. Upon arriving in the bank lobby, the guards at the doors snapped to attention and crossed their halberds across the doors indicating that no one was to enter or leave until the formalities were completed.

When Ragnok got to the center of the Great Seal of Gringotts, he stopped. The goblins not behind a counter all bent on one knee in honor of their director.

"Fellow Goblins of Gringotts, wizards and witches; from henceforth let it be known that Harry James Potter-Black, Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Black and wielder of Ragnuk the First's Sword of Honor; Lord Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black; and Remus John Lupin, Steward for the House of Potter are recognized as Friends of the Goblin Nation. They have brought honor to the Nation as well as to their respective Houses. Gringotts is at your disposal."

That announcement shocked the wizards and witches, however the goblins present began beating on their shields, if they had them, or their desks for those at teller windows. Once the noise died down, Ragnok turned and bowed to the three stunned wizards, "If I may ever be of service to you, you only need ask."

Sirius took the lead this time, "Director Ragnok, you honor us today. May we continue to earn this position you have afforded us and may your profits ever grow." Sirius bowed, with Harry and Remus following.

"Please allow our Friends to depart first, then you may resume your business." Ragnok escorted them to the doors where the guards had now come to attention and opened them for the departing trio. Once they got to the street, they all looked at each other as if to say, "What was that all about?"

"Well, pup, you've got another honor to add to your long list of names. That was amazing! I wonder how long it's been since Gringotts London has named anyone as a Friend of the Nation?"

Remus said, "I'm not sure, but I suspect we'll find out in tomorrow's _Daily Prophet_."

The three wizards all chuckled, then headed back down to the Leaky Cauldron to floo home. Tomorrow brought the meeting with Horace Slughorn then going to Potter Manor to welcome in the new year and then welcome guests to the first Potter-Black reception. Once back at Black Hall, they went over the guest list again so they all knew who would be there. The receiving line would be Sirius, Harry, Andromeda and Narcissa. Unfortunately, Sirius would not have much time to talk with Narcissa before then in regards to today's events.

OoOoOoOoOo

Horace Slughorn looked pretty much the same as he had when Sirius and Remus had him as their Potions Professor. He'd gotten a little rounder and a bit balder, but he still had the huge, walrus-like moustache he'd had when they were students.

"Sirius! Remus! So good to see you again. And who is this young man?"

Both Sirius and Remus knew that Slughorn knew exactly who Harry was, but to play along, Sirius introduced him, "This is my son, Harry Potter-Black."

Harry held out his hand and shook Slughorn's, "Pleased to meet you, Professor."

"Well, now. Isn't he the polite one. Won't you come in?"

The three visitors joined him in his sitting room.

"Can I get you anything?"

Sirius responded for them all, "No, thanks. We've got a few other stops before we head over to Potter Manor for the upcoming festivities. I noticed you will be there as well."

"Oh yes! I wouldn't miss it for the world. One of the season's most sought after invitations."

"I'm sure you're wondering why we asked to see you."

"Well the thought did cross my mind."

"Dumbledore left us a set of memories regarding Tom Riddle. We noticed the one of yours had been tampered with. We need to know just what he asked you and what you told him."

"Well, it was a long time ago and I talked to Tom on numerous occasions as I would any of my students."

Sirius knew he was going to have to pin the former professor down to get anything out of him, "We know that Tom asked you about horcruxes and how many someone could make. We saw that he asked you about a specific number. It is that part of the memory that we need the real answer for."

They had rehearsed their meeting beforehand knowing Slughorn would be evasive at best and in denial at worst. Remus would take a go again before Harry would lay on the final assault.

"Horace, I realize this is a sticky subject for you. Tom was a very persuasive wizard, even as a student. We won't think less of you regardless of what you told him," said Remus.

"Yes, it was a bit of a shock when he asked me. I told him it was one of the darkest kinds of magic and that I knew nothing else about them. I suggested he speak with Professor Merrythought."

They knew it was now Harry's turn, "Professor, we know he made more than one. We've already found several of them. What we need to know is just how many more there are. Dumbledore gave us a list of those he suspected, but he still didn't know the final number. That's what we really need to know."

The three wizards looked expectantly at Slughorn. He'd turned deathly pale at that statement, "You mean he really did split his soul?"

"Yes, he did," said Remus, "We need to know just what he was planning so we can be sure we get them all before he has a chance to return. No one needs to know what you told us."

"How many have you already destroyed?"

"Counting the one in Harry, four," said Sirius.

"Harry was a horcrux! How utterly despicable! Are you able to have it removed?"

"Yes. The goblins removed it earlier during the holidays. We suspect there are two more, not counting the spirit Harry ejected in his first year."

If Slughorn hadn't been sitting down, he would have fallen down. Instead, he got up and went over to the sideboard and poured himself a very stiff shot of Ogden's Finest. Once fortified, he felt more confident in his response.

"He asked me if seven would help ensure someone's life would never end. I told him it was bad enough to split your soul once, but seven times was unimaginable."

"What did he do after that, sir?" asked Harry.

"He politely thanked me and then left. Although the discussion concerned me, I thought no more about it until Albus asked me for that memory. You understand why I didn't want it seen."

Remus answered gently, "Of course, Horace. No one wants to think someone was so debased to commit seven murders just to insure their immortality. We know he didn't commit them just to show you it could be done. He was committed to ensuring his will was foisted on everyone and he needed to be sure he was around to do it. Now that we are sure the number is seven, we are pretty certain where to look now."

"You will get them all, won't you?" he asked hesitantly.

Sirius replied, "That is one thing you can count on, Horace. We've been working with the goblins on their destruction. We will see him die, once and for all."

After a few more words of comfort, the trio bade him goodbye, noting they were looking forward to seeing him again at the reception.

OoOoOoOoOo

After leaving Slughorn's they went straight to Potter Manor. Dobby had already taken their luggage for them. The Manor looked spectacular! The elves had outdone themselves on making it hospitable to all of their guests. They confirmed with Cassie where each of the visitors would be staying. Harry was not sharing his room with anyone anymore. It was his home and he could do what he wanted. Sirius, Remus and the Grangers would all be on the same floor as he was with all the Weasleys on the second floor. The Tonks had declined their offer to stay over.

They went to the dining room for lunch and had Cassie come and talk to them about the arrangements for tomorrow. Kreacher would be joining them tomorrow to help as this was a joint Potter-Black event. Harry then told her about cleaning out the house in Godric's Hollow. He said that Dobby would probably do most of the work, but Sirius may need her help as well. Also, did she have somewhere to store everything they brought back. Since it would all be shrunken, she told them there was plenty of space in the attic to store whatever they brought back.

The Grangers were the first to arrive. This was their first trip to the Manor and were duly impressed with it despite what Hermione had told them. It finally sunk in that this young man was one very wealthy wizard. Harry took them upstairs and showed them where they would be staying. He left them to get settled. He knew he'd find Hermione in the library fifteen minutes later. He knew the Weasleys would be late. They never arrived anywhere on time.

Harry was right as he found her in the library shortly afterwards.

"So, did how did you do on the first term? I just got my grades," asked Hermione.

"I think I did ok. How about you?"

"Well, I think I could have done better in Defense, but I really liked my grades in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, especially since this was the first term for both of them. I'm really glad I dropped Divination and Muggle Studies. How about you?"

"Hermione, why don't you just ask if you can see my grades and I'll swap with you?" grinned Harry.

Hermione stopped for a minute, then said, "Harry, may I see your report card? Here is mine if you'd like to see it."

Harry smiled, then pulled his report card out and handed it over to her and she handed hers to him.

"We all know you're tops in our class, this just proves it. Well done, Hermione!"

Hermione looked at Harry's, then smiled, "You did really well, Harry! You're now up to eighth in the class! If we get a decent History professor, you'll be giving me a run for my money."

"I don't think I'll do that well, Hermione, but I'm pretty happy with those results. Sirius is too. Now that we're going to get a new History professor, I'm hoping to do better there too."

At that point, they both heard the floo flare and the even thumps as the Weasleys arrived. Harry and Hermione went to greet them. Again, Harry played tour guide and took them up to the top floor and showed them where they would be sleeping. Ginny was happy to get a room by herself, but Ron wasn't all that happy about sharing a room with Percy. He'd done it at the Leaky Cauldron and survived so he'd just have to do it again. It was only for two nights.

Once everyone had settled, they all gathered in the library. Sirius wanted to provide some instruction on the upcoming events before they all scattered for the afternoon. He knew Harry was planning to do some flying with Ron and the twins at least. He assumed Hermione would want to visit the library, but thought her parents should at least get a chance to see what Quidditch looked like.

"Welcome everyone! Before you scatter, I'd just like to tell you a bit about what is going to happen tomorrow. There will be a receiving line in the ballroom consisting of Harry, Andi, Narcissa and myself. I haven't had a chance to speak with Narcissa after yesterday's events so that may be tentative now. Kreacher will be at the floo directing those arriving that way to the ballroom while Hopper will be at the edge of the wards where people will be apparating in. It is possible there will be an Auror at each location as well to ensure Amelia's security. I've provided her with a list of guests. She and Susan are expected to arrive about half four. Once we're sure the majority of the guests have arrived, we'll disband the line and be able to mingle with the guests. Harry and I will take a few moments to address the guests after that. If I could ask one of the adults to stay with Ian and Michelle that would be appreciated. I'm not sure I've ever seen a squib, much less a Muggle at these functions, so it should be interesting. I'm sure they would like to meet some of your friends, Hermione."

Hermione nodded her head excitedly.

"We'll also introduce you to some of the members of our government from the Wizengamot as well as others from Hogwarts. I want you to feel comfortable. If you don't, speak to Remus or Arthur immediately. You are a protectee of my House and I will not stand for any of my guests, however well-connected they may be, to treat you badly."

Sirius looked directly at them to ensure they understood this was expected.

"I expect things to wrap up by seven as those with children will need to get them ready to go back to Hogwarts the next day. I've arranged again for the Knight Limo to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron at ten to take us to the station. We can all floo there from here. Now, with the formalities over, let's talk about some fun! Harry?"

"Well, I thought we could play some Quidditch this afternoon and try out my practice Snitch some more. I think Hermione's parents should have a chance to see what we are all obsessed with," Harry grinned at the elder Grangers, "Now tonight, we don't have anything special planned. There are several Muggle villages nearby and, as I understand it, most towns usually have some sort of fireworks displays for the New Year at midnight. We could go to one, but we can probably see them from here. It's all up to you. Anyone still with homework to finish is welcome to use the library. The potions lab is off limits still," he said, looking pointedly at the twins, "However, we may take a look in there tomorrow to see what is actually in there. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to do some flying!" With that, the group split up, with those having brooms going to retrieve them.

Michelle was a bit perplexed, "They're going out to fly on brooms at this time of year? They'll catch their death of cold!"

Sirius laughed, "We have warming charms to help with that. We'll show you once we're out there." The youngsters trooped downstairs again and Harry led the way out to the pitch. Molly and Percy again chose to stay inside. Sirius, Remus, Bill and Arthur chose to play as well, leaving Hermione to explain the game to her parents. They chose sides with Harry and Ginny again being the seekers. They weren't using beaters because there weren't enough people, but they'd later give the Grangers a show of what that consisted of. After an hour of flying, the group came down for a breather.

Ian was impressed, "How many people die playing that sport?"

They all laughed. They could understand how it would look to someone not used to the sport. Even Harry had thought that the first time he'd seen the game.

Remus replied, "Remarkably, almost none. There are always others who can cast cushioning charms or other charms to keep a player from nose diving straight into the ground, however, I don't think that applies to Harry." This drew a laugh from everyone. They went back up again, only this time the twins got out a bludger and the beater bats to demonstrate what a complete Quidditch game consists of.

Finally tired out, the group went back in and cleaned up for dinner. Sirius quietly pulled Bill aside.

"When are you due to go back to Egypt?"

"Wednesday. Is there something you need?"

"I need a curse breaker who can be very discreet to accompany me on a mission."

Bill was intrigued, "It's nothing illegal I hope."

"Oh no! I'm sorry for the cloak and dagger. I think we have a location for another one of Tom's trophies. I just don't want to go there alone and didn't want to do it with Harry around."

Now understanding what it was about, he readily agreed, "Most definitely I'd like to help. When would you like to do this?"

"I was thinking about going after dropping off the kids at the Express on Sunday."

"I think that would be a good time. I'm sure I can tell my parents I need to stop by Gringotts before heading back." Sirius nodded, satisfied that another of Voldemort's soul pieces would quickly be dealt with.

After dinner, they all settled in for some entertainment. The kids introduced the Grangers to the games of Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess. It turned out Ian was a pretty good chess player and gave Ron a run for his money. As it approached midnight, they all took the libation of their choice outside to see what they could see. On the stroke of midnight, church bells began ringing throughout the area and there were several fireworks displays visible. Shortly after that, they all wished each other a Happy New Year and adjourned to their rooms. Harry was certain 1994 would be his best ever.


	62. The Potter-Black New Year's Reception

**A/N: I thought I'd go ahead and post the last chapter in the Christmas Holidays story arc. Now, that really is all until near the end of July. Let me say this again, if I haven't said it enough, your kind words in your reviews humble me. I never thought, when I started writing this, that it would expand to where it has. Thank you for hanging out with me this long! So, in The Definition of Normal's world, Happy New Year!**

62\. The Potter-Black New Year's Reception

Some of the group decided to have a bit of a lie-in, but Sirius and Harry knew that they had several things to take care of before their guests arrived. After they'd had breakfast, they had a quick meeting with all of the elves in the library. Remus had also joined them. As the Potter Steward, he also had a bit part in all of this. While the two elves would be in charge of greeting the guests at the two arrival points, Remus was going to be the one who greeted the guests and then made the first introductions to Sirius at the start of the receiving line. He was ensuring he was familiar with the guest list and their proper introductions so that he did not commit a social faux pas. Once they were all satisfied that they knew their parts, they went their separate ways. Sirius had received an owl from Narcissa who wished to speak with him that morning if at all possible.

Sirius decided to have Narcissa floo over. This talk seemed better to be had on somewhat neutral territory. While they had not been left destitute, their means were greatly reduced. She was concerned that, with her family's disgrace, it would taint the seriousness of the afternoon's festivities.

"Narcissa, were you aware of what your husband did with the diary?"

"No! I never knew he had been given anything from the Dark Lord."

"Are you a marked follower of Voldemort?"

"No. While Lucius tried to persuade me to do so, I thought it best that one of us remain unmarked for just such a situation."

"Did you support Voldemort's aim's?"

At this question, she hesitated, "I thought so at first, then when I saw him and his Death Eaters attacking pureblood families as well, I found it distasteful. I couldn't say this publicly or it would have been an immediate death sentence after excruciating torture for Lucius and probably Draco and myself."

"There are several things we can do. I can dissolve your marriage to Lucius, but that would have a negative impact on Draco. I think we both agree that we want him to inherit the Malfoy title and associated wealth when he comes of age. I can claim protection of the Malfoy line until Draco comes of age and appoint a Steward to manage it for you. Lastly, I could do nothing and allow you to make your own decisions. You also need to appoint a proxy for the Malfoy Wizengamot seat. Let me ask you something. How comfortable are you with Lord Cornfoot managing your affairs?"

"Not very. He's an old friend of Lucius and definitely a supporter of the Dark Lord. I suspect he's the one who advised Lucius to claim being under the _Imperius_ curse at the end of the last war."

"If you would like, I will introduce you to Gerald Howe and let you meet with him to decide if he would be a better advisor for you. Regardless, you have done nothing to have me disown you or Draco and I have no problem having you here tonight. It all depends on what you feel comfortable with. I will not allow the sins of the father to condemn the rest of his family. You can think about this and talk to Draco before making a decision, but I need your decision by one so I can rearrange things if I need to. You may wish to consult your sister as well."

"And how does your son feel about this?"

"Harry and I haven't talked specifically about this. Since this is more Black family business, I will make an assumption that he will go along with whatever I decide. As you know, he and Draco have never gotten along, but I am hopeful that they can at least agree to a truce."

Sirius got up and showed Narcissa to the floo.

OoOoOoOoOo

The tempo of the house escalated as the clock ticked closer to four. Andromeda had owled that they would be coming over about two so they could spend some time with the Grangers. Apparently they had been conversing since the family meeting and both families were looking to formalize the magical guardianship for Hermione. Sirius had suggested they use the sitting room on the first floor for a bit of privacy. They'd also taken some time to go into the potions laboratory to see what shape it was in. To say it was fully stocked didn't do it justice. It was a toss-up as to whether Hermione or the twins were more impressed. The consensus was that there would be potions lessons over the summer; some might actually be academic.

Finally, as the clock approached four, they all got into their positions. Hopper had gone out to the edge of the wards and Kreacher had stationed himself next to the floo. The rest of the houseguests entered the ballroom; there was no reason for them to go through the official receiving line. Narcissa and Draco arrived and spent some time talking with Andromeda before they all got into their positions. After discussing it with her sister, she had come to the conclusion that by being seen with the Blacks, it would show the rest of the guests that they were not pariahs.

Rizzo had outdone himself in the food and drink preparation. The rest of the elves busied themselves serving the guests. Winky had also joined the group helping with serving. She now wore a Potter tea towel. Sirius had asked Gerald to come about thirty minutes early so he could introduce him to Narcissa and facilitate their meeting. They were all pleased to meet Gerald's wife, Grace, too. One thing Harry had to say about the magical world was that they knew when to be on time. They had specified an arrival time between four and five with departure at their leisure.

The guests were prompt and attired formally as they had been for the other receptions Harry had attended. Neville and his grandmother were among the first to arrive. He joined Hermione and the younger Weasleys to establish the Hogwarts contingent area. Apparently Molly had given Ron some pointed instructions about his manners as he didn't immediately commandeer the hors d'oeuvers as they came by. Rita Skeeter was also among the first to arrive. Sirius had told her she could report the event as long as she left her quick quotes quill at home and did not embellish the truth about the event. The pitch of the evening rose a bit when Amelia and Susan Bones arrived, but then everything settled back down. Dora had also come over to the group, mainly to keep an eye on Hermione so she could learn more about the girl and how she could help her better adjust to the magical world.

Harry was already tired even before half of the guests had arrived. There were many people he'd met at the other events, but still, he wasn't comfortable being on display like this. Sirius had anticipated it and had given him some tips about putting on his "public" face for the event. He smiled when he saw Professor McGonagall come through. Even Remus had some fun with her.

"Lord Black, may I present Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor of Transfiguration, former Head of Gryffindor House and Minnie the cat."

Sirius and Harry tried to hide a laugh but couldn't.

"Remus Lupin! You know better than to do that in public! You're not too old for me to assign you detention!" she said with a smile.

"You mean he isn't in it already, Headmistress?" asked Sirius.

"Lord Black! You'd best not be giving your son any ideas either. Oh, and may I congratulate you both on the adoption. I'm very happy for both of you. Your records have already updated themselves as I'm sure you saw on your grade report. Well done, Mr. Potter-Black."

They all smiled, then Harry passed her on to Andromeda. Finally, the hour set aside for greeting passed and the line had been quiet for more than five minutes. Sirius signaled the end of it and they could now move around freely. Harry grabbed a glass of mulled cider and joined his friends for a few minutes before the formal part of the evening. Harry had taken Draco with him so the younger Malfoy wouldn't go all wallflower on them. Harry knew he didn't have to do it, but in keeping with the spirit of the evening, did it anyway.

The circle of Hogwarts students was a combination of the other two receptions he'd been to. Cedric Diggory, Oliver Wood, Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillan, Hannah Abbott, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracy Davis, Roger Davies, and, of course, Neville, the Weasleys and Hermione. Sirius had told him he was not going to invite any of the known Dark families, especially now that so many of the heads of house were in Ministry holding cells awaiting trial. While invited, Professor Snape had sent his regrets; someone had to remain at Hogwarts to ensure the inmates didn't take over the asylum.

Harry was surprised when Neville pulled him off to the side for a minute.

"You know all of that stuff you had on you – the blocks?"

"Yeah."

"I guess Gran must have talked to Lord Black, because she took me to the Goblins and they found several on me too."

"Should I ask who put them there?"

"Probably not. Anyway, I'm definitely not a squib. Gran's sent an owl to Professor McGonagall telling her about it so she can get the other professors to help me out. How did you do it?"

"It's all a matter of intent. If you're thinking really hard about a charm, you're going to get bigger results. A lot of practice will help. Start with a basic _Wingardium Leviosa_ and go from there. I'm sure Professor Flitwick will help, but if there's anything I can do, let me know."

Sirius came by and tapped him on the shoulder indicating it was time to do their formal welcome. There was an orchestra platform in the ballroom giving them an elevated view of their guests. When they mounted it, the string quartet that had been playing stopped to allow them to speak.

Sirius cast a _Sonorus_ on himself then began, "Happy New Year everyone and thank you for coming this afternoon to, what we hope will be, an annual event; the joint Potter-Black New Year's Day Reception. You honor us with your presence today. While this has been in the _Daily Prophet_ , I would like to formally introduce my son, Harry James Potter-Black, Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Black." Sirius paused for a moment for the polite applause, with the exception of some of the Hogwarts contingent, who led a round of whistles and confetti. Sirius wasn't quite sure where that had come from, but he suspected the Weasley twins had managed to sneak something in.

"Yes, thank you. This has been an eventful year for both of us and it wouldn't have happened without the help of many of you in this room. First we'd like to thank Minister Bones for believing in both of us and ensuring justice was administered properly. We'd like to acknowledge the efforts of our solicitor, Gerald Howe, for his guidance through these past few months. But most of all, we'd like to thank some very special friends who, without their support, I doubt we would be as happy as we are. My oldest friend, Remus Lupin, the Weasley family and the Granger family. I can't tell you what it means to me for you to have taken Harry into your hearts and helped him through the past two years. Now, I think Harry had a couple of words he wanted to say before we get back to the main reason for this little get together – to party!"

Sirius nodded to Harry and cast the charm on him. He cleared his throat and then began speaking, "I think Sirius has said pretty much what I wanted to say. While many of you are new to me, there are quite a few of you representing my Hogwarts family here tonight. I considered Hogwarts my home the minute I saw the beautiful castle. I thought that would be the only home I really and truly ever had. Then this mangy mutt came into my life and now I have a father, several places I can now call home, an uncle who was also one of my parents' best friends and many more people I can call friends. Growing up, all I'd ever wanted was a family that loved and cared for me. I'd see other kids with mothers and fathers and I always envied what they had. I always considered them 'normal'. Well, I can tell you that normal is what you make of it and I now feel that the life I now have is my new definition of normal. Thank you all for coming. I look forward to getting to know you better in the future. For my Hogwarts friends, I'll see you on the Express tomorrow."

They both left the platform and resumed mingling with their guests. Amelia came over to the Hogwarts group and spent a bit of time getting their take on the latest events. Percy took a few minutes to talk to her about jobs in the Ministry and where he might fit in. Harry didn't see the group of Sirius, Remus, Amelia and Minerva looking at them and commenting about the future of the wizarding world resting on their young shoulders.

Finally, everyone left and it was just the core group remaining. The first thing everybody did was go up and put some comfortable clothes on. Once back together, the adults wanted to be certain everyone had what they needed for tomorrow and the rest packed. Breakfast would be promptly at eight, so if they wanted to eat, they'd best be downstairs. They were flooing to the Leaky Cauldron at half nine as the Knight Limo was picking them up at ten. Remus would leave directly from Potter Manor for Hogwarts in the morning. Everyone was really interested in the Granger's take on the evening.

Michelle was the first to speak up, "I was surprised that, in a lot of ways, it was like any other cocktail party I've been to. There were some people talking about politics and some were talking about current events and then there's the gossips." Everyone laughed at that.

Sirius asked, "Was there any interesting gossip we should know about?"

"Well, Mrs. Trifthouser was trying to find a suitable woman to introduce you to, so you'd best be on your guard," she said, laughing.

"Should I be worried?"

Ian spoke up, "I would be afraid, very afraid."

Arthur added his contribution, "Surprisingly, there was very little overt snubbing of the Grangers. I would have expected some of the older purebloods to take their presence as an insult. I hope this is the world we get to look forward to now."

Molly, not to be left out of the conversation, also said, "Everyone seemed to be impressed with the menu as well as how well they were taken care of. Your elves are to be commended. I must get their recipe for the tart they served."

Everyone who knew of Molly Weasley's penchant for cooking was surprised that she would want someone else's recipe, much less an elf. Harry decided to take this a step further and called Cassie.

"Harry be calling Cassie?"

"Yes. Could you ask all of the elves to come out for a minute?"

With a quick snap of her fingers all of the elves, including Dobby, Winky and Kreacher, appeared in the sitting room.

"I wanted to thank you for all of your work today as well as the preparations for it. I don't think we could have had a better party."

"I have to agree with Harry. This was the smoothest event I've seen in a long time, not counting the years I was out of service.," added Sirius.

"I want you everyone to have a day of rest. I know you'll tell me you don't need it, but please take some time to take care of yourselves. This is not an order. Cassie, I know you'll make sure everyone is happy, so I will leave it up to you. Kreacher, since Sirius is your Master, I'll let him give you your instructions. Winky, once you've had a chance to rest, you can go back to Crouch House and resume your normal duties. Rizzo, is your tart recipe a family one or something you developed?"

"It be a Potter family recipe. It was passed down to me from my mother and from her mother before her."

"Well, it got rave reviews. Thank you for including it on the menu," Harry told him, looking at Mrs. Weasley to confirm she understood that the recipe was a family secret.

"Cassie, we'll be down for breakfast at eight, then we'll all be gone before ten. If you need anything, please let me know as Harry will be back at Hogwarts," said Sirius.

"Would Harry and his friends like an evening snack?" asked Rizzo.

He looked around and noticed nobody except Ron was ready to put the elves out again. Harry and Sirius really hadn't had a chance to eat anything, so he told him to bring them some light sandwiches and some hot chocolate. By nine, everyone was ready to go to bed, or at least spend some time away from all of the mass of humanity that had assaulted them for the last few hours.

Harry was about to climb into bed when Sirius knocked on his door.

"Glad I caught you before you went to bed. I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you. You held up really well and I got nothing but compliments from our guests. I know these things aren't all that fun, but as a Head of House, you will have to learn to take them in stride. I noticed there was more talk in your group besides Quidditch this time."

"Well, since a lot of them had been at the Ministry for Malfoy's trial, there was some discussion about that and the whole workings of the Wizengamot. There was some discussion about school too."

"Well, you held yourself well tonight. I hate to bring this up, but how was Draco?"

"Well, he was a bit withdrawn, but every so often, some of his normal sarcasm came out. I think he'll be more comfortable back at Hogwarts with his friends. How was Madam Malfoy?"

"She had her mask firmly in place. Having Andi there helped her tremendously. Having her standing with us also served notice to anyone who cared that, while Lucius is rotting in a Muggle prison, she is still backed by a formidable family in the Blacks as well as the Potters. They still have a lot of healing to do, but I'm hoping that we've gotten to Draco in time to keep him from ending up in a situation like his father did."

"So with everyone gone, what are you going to be doing?"

"After we get you on the train, Bill and I are going treasure hunting."

"Which one?"

"Hopefully we'll find the ring in Little Hangleton. There was enough information in the memory about Bob Ogden for us to be able to search it out. If we find it, we'll take it straight to the Goblins."

"What about it being that special stone thing that Dumbledore told us about?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that. It's said that the one who possesses all three is the Master of Death. If the stone is gone, then the chance of anyone uniting them again is gone. Someone may discover the secret to the Elder Wand, but without the other two, the full power is gone. I agree with Albus about destroying the wand, but seeing how it spoke to you so strongly, I don't want to do anything with it until we can be as certain as possible that Moldyshorts is gone for good."

"That makes sense. I've got it locked up in the warded compartment in the desk in the library. I don't want anyone to know I have it."

"That's a good idea. Now, before I tuck you into bed, is there anything you need from me?"

"Not that I can think of and I don't need tucking into bed! I'm thirteen years old!"

"You may be thirteen, but I've got a lot of tucking in to make up for."

Harry settled down into his bed and put his glasses on the bedside table. Sirius tucked the blankets up around his son, ruffled his hair, then placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Goodnight son."

"Goodnight Dad."


	63. Return to Hogwarts

A/N: I'm back! I've had some time to get my writing caught up a bit as well. This part of the story will move much faster as we head to the end of the year. Still a lot of surprises left.

63\. Return to Hogwarts

The early breakfast the next morning proved to be an incentive for the one person everyone worried about being ready to go to Kings Cross Station – Ron. It also helped that three of them had trunks that could be easily shrunken and put in their pockets. Sirius also shrunk the owl cages so they could put them in their trunks. Harry, Ron and Percy all sent their owls back to Hogwarts. It would be much more comfortable for them that way. Crookshanks was still pouncing about the manor. Rather than making him endure a trip through the floo, Dobby was going to bring him to Hermione once she got to the station. They had debated just letting Dobby wait and bring him straight to her dorm room, but she didn't want to risk her roommates asking questions she didn't want to give answers to. Remus floo'd directly back to the castle as soon as breakfast was over.

It was a very active group of people who arrived at Kings Cross Station. Hermione's parents left her at the Leaky Cauldron. They'd parked their car nearby for the trip to Potter Manor and didn't want to worry about someone having to bring them back. Harry, Ron and Hermione settled themselves into a compartment and were soon joined by Neville. Ginny had gone off with some of her friends and the twins had quickly caught up with Lee Jordan to plan their next prank. Percy, as the Head Boy, had to be up front for the prefects' meeting. Soon the train was on its way back to Scotland and the parents had quickly departed the platform.

OoOoOoOoOo

As soon as the train was gone, Sirius excused himself to go back and close up Potter Manor (or so he said). Bill told his parents he needed to stop by Gringotts for a bit. There was another task for Bill to do before he headed back to Egypt on Wednesday. They were actually going to meet at the house in Godric's Hollow first. While Sirius and Remus had recast some of the wards on the house, Sirius wanted someone more knowledgeable to ensure they were strong. While there, he called Dobby and told him to remove all of the possessions and place them in the attic at Potter Manor. He and Harry would spend some time over the summer going through everything. Once that task was done, they went to their primary destination; Little Hangleton.

The village of Little Hangleton reminded the wizards somewhat of Godric's Hollow. It wasn't difficult to find Riddle Manor on the outskirts of town. It was the only such building of its size anywhere near the town. Once they found the manor, they then looked for the Gaunt shack. It was anyone's guess as to how it could still be standing after all the years since Bob Ogden had last visited it. Sirius had Bill go first; letting him cast spells to detect any wards and curses. There was still a nail in the door where there had once been a snake nailed there. That was something else Sirius began looking for. Perhaps he should have brought Harry with him.

"Apparently Riddle never thought anyone would come near this shack, so he didn't try to ward it at all," said Bill.

"Maybe there was still someone living here when he hid it so he couldn't."

"That's a good possibility. In that case, if the ring is hidden here, I suspect it's got all sorts of wards and curses on it."

The two men entered the shack and looked around. The first thing Bill did was cast a stability charm on the building. It wouldn't do to have it fall down on them while they were searching.

"Maybe I should have gotten Mad-Eye to come with us. That eye of his can see all sorts of magic," said Sirius.

"Perhaps, but I think the least number of people involved the better. I can't imagine what would happen if Voldemort's former followers were to get wind of a way to bring him back."

Bill cast several more charms and then an area on the floor lit up with a red outline.

"Well, at least we know something magical is in here. The red indicates it's not something friendly either." Bill then moved near the area and took some sort of pry bar out and began prodding around the area indicated. He then used it to lift a floorboard up. Once that was done, he recast his detection charms.

"Whoa! There's one really strong compulsion charm on whatever it is down there. Stay back where you are, Sirius. I wouldn't recommend getting near the thing. I've seen some of these things in Egypt and whatever it is whomever cast it on usually doesn't bode well for anyone. Let me see if I can remove it."

It took Bill about thirty minutes to totally disarm the area before he felt comfortable getting close to it. He looked in then levitated out a small box. Bill then shuddered.

"Whatever is in there isn't nice at all. I think we need to get this back to Gorpog immediately. I think this may be what you are looking for."

"I'm all for it. Can we render it safe to travel?" asked Sirius.

Bill pulled out a bag, "Gorpog gave me this to put it in. It's a magic suppressing bag. We use them frequently in Egypt too. I told him we were going on a treasure hunt. He gave me one of those goblin grins that does not give you a very good feeling at all. I think he's enjoying this way too much."

The two men quickly closed up the shack and apparated back to Diagon Alley. Bill bypassed the main banking floor and led him directly to Gorpog. Handing over the bag, the Goblin pulled out the box and cast a containment spell around it before opening it.

"Tom Riddle was clumsy when he didn't protect his treasures from other beings besides wizards. While you may feel a strong pull from this item, I feel nothing. Now, let's see what we have here."

Gorpog opened the box and pulled out a man's ring. It was a thick gold band with an onyx stone in the middle. As Sirius looked closer, he could see the sign of the Deathly Hallows on it. So this really was the Resurrection Stone?

"What would you have us do with this item, Lord Black? It is indeed another of Riddle's treasures," inquired the Goblin.

"Once you destroy the soul piece, then the gem should be totally destroyed as well."

"I take it there is something more to this than just a family ring?" asked Bill.

"There is a suspicion, but no proof. And if it is what is suspected, then it needs to be eradicated completely. My information could be flawed as it came from Albus."

"Consider it done, Lord Black. Ragnok has asked to be kept apprised of your treasure hunt. Do you have an idea of how many more there may be?"

"Other than the spirit we believe is still around, just one; Ravenclaw's diadem. And yes, I know it's been lost for many years."

"How do you expect to find it?" asked Bill.

"Remus and Harry are going to talk to the Gray Lady first and see if they can get any information from her."

"Well, I wish them good luck," said Gorpog.

Sirius thanked Bill and bid him farewell. He then went to see Silvergrip to have 5,000 galleons deposited in Bill's vault.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station promptly at six. The group went over to the carriages and made their way to the castle. It had been an uneventful trip, but different for several reasons. The first was that Draco Malfoy never made an appearance. Then there was the fact that quite a few others stopped by their compartment than was usual. Most were people they'd seen the day before at the reception. They were thanking Harry for the invitation and had quite a few good words for the event. Harry had sought out both Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass to give his thanks to them as well for the invitations to their events too. After making a quick trip to their dorm to deposit their trunks as well as Crookshanks, they all joined the flow of people going to the Great Hall. Once the last of the stragglers found their way in, Professor McGonagall stood up to begin the festivities.

"Welcome back everyone. I hope you are all well rested and ready to start a new term. Before we begin the feast, I would like to introduce you to two new professors. First is Emmaline Vance. She will be taking over Transfiguration classes for those in first through fifth year. I will still continue to teach the NEWT classes for the remainder of this year. Professor Adam Newell will be the new History of Magic professor as Professor Binns has decided to retire."

While the first announcement had gotten some applause, the second one sent the entire student body into rowdy celebration. They really didn't care anything about the man, only that he had to be better than Binns.

"Yes, yes. I understand your sentiments. I would have had the very same if I were in your position. I will let these new professors tell you more about themselves during class. I expect you to give them the utmost respect as you would all of your other professors. Now, let the feast begin." She tapped her wand and the food appeared.

Once dinner was over, Harry caught a signal from Remus that he wanted to speak to him. He knew what Sirius was planning to do that afternoon, so he suspected it might be about that. He sent his friends on ahead while he went to Remus' office.

"Did you have a good trip, Harry?"

"Yeah. About the same as usual."

"Any problems from anyone?"

"No. Draco and his two bodyguards stayed away."

"Well, so I don't keep you too long, Sirius let me know their treasure hunt was successful."

"They got the ring! Is it gone?"

"Yes. It was turned over to the goblins and it's been destroyed. From its appearance, it could have been the Resurrection Stone."

"So that means nobody can become the Master of Death?"

"If it was, in fact, the Resurrection Stone, then yes, nobody can be the Master of Death if they believe in that story. Now, why don't you go on up to the tower. I'd hate for you to be out after curfew your first night back."

"Did Sirius want me to call him tonight?"

"No, not unless you have something you need to discuss with him."

OoOoOoOoOo

There had been quite a bit of excitement the next morning as the students gathered for their first day back. While the Gryffindor third years didn't have their two new professors until the next day, they were anxious to hear what the others were saying about them. While Professor Vance was discussed, the major talk in the Great Hall was Professor Newell. It had been a bit like Remus' first days in the castle as everyone rated the latest DADA professor. With the exception of the first years, everyone's first History class began with a quiz so that he could get a feel for what they did or didn't know.

On Tuesday, Harry started out with Professor Vance. She gave a basic introduction of herself and said that she looked forward to working with them for the rest of the year. When asked whether she planned to continue after this year, she said that, while she enjoyed Hogwarts and looked forward to teaching the remainder of the year, her interests were primarily in the application of transfiguration. She also let them know that she did not have her Mastery and that was something they wished for all professors to have. Professor Newell was a bit different. He explained his academic pursuits and his desire to see a more well-rounded curriculum. While he agreed that Bathilda Bagshot was an exceptional historian, her text presented a narrow viewpoint and did not include more modern events. He looked at the lesson plans he had been given, but felt that a broader look at how events in both the magical and Muggle world shaped the overall history of both worlds was also important. He also discussed his interest in historical preservation. When the class was over, he asked Harry to stay behind.

"Mr. Potter, according to Headmistress McGonagall, there is a rare cache of historical artifacts in the castle that only you are able to access. She asked me to get with you to set a time for me to take a look at them. Is there a time more convenient for you?"

"Well, sir, we don't start Quidditch practice until next week, so I'm free most evenings. I really think you might want to wait until the weekend so that you have plenty of time to spend there."

"Could you perhaps give me an idea of what these items are? And why you are the only one who can access them?"

Harry could see the mischievous side of their headmistress at work and decided to play along so that the new professor would get the full effect, "I think it's best if you see them yourself, sir. The reason I'm the only one who can access the location is that it requires someone who knows Parseltongue to get in there."

"And you are the only Parselmouth available, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Has no one thought to change the password now that you know what's there?"

"Do you know how to change a password set in Parseltongue, sir?"

"I see your point. Why don't we meet outside the Great Hall at nine Saturday morning then?"

"That's great! I'll let Professor Lupin know so he can disable the wards he placed on it."

"Excellent. I will see you then."

OoOoOoOoOo

Saturday morning came and Harry went to join Remus for the trip down to the Chamber. Hermione had asked to go with them so she could see just what really was down there at a more leisurely pace. Ron had, unsurprisingly, begged off. Instead of sleeping in, he'd apparently talked Percy into helping him with his Charms and Transfiguration homework. Percy had been quite pleased that Ron had asked for help and was more than willing to provide it to him.

Neville also had additional classes today. Both Professors Flitwick and Vance were going to spend some time helping him learn to moderate his power with his spells. Remus would work with him on Sunday.

They met Professor Newell outside the Great Hall and proceeded to the second floor.

"Why are we going into a girl's bathroom, Mr. Potter?"

"The entrance to the Chamber is in it. Hardly anyone goes in here because of the ghost who lives here."

As if on cue, Myrtle showed up to enliven the group.

"Hi Harry. I haven't seen you since you were here with the Goblins. Why haven't you been back to see me?"

"Well, I've been a bit busy with school, you know."

She looked over at Professor Newell and said, "Who's your friend there? I haven't seen him in the castle before. He's cute," she giggled and batted her eyes.

They were all trying to stifle a laugh with the exception of Professor Newell who just looked confused.

"He's the new History professor. He's come to look at the Chamber of Secrets. I'll try to visit you again soon."

Feeling they had placated the spirit, Harry hissed open the entrance, giving no thought that his Parseltongue ability might be linked to the horcrux formerly in him, and they all went downstairs. Remus had put a ward and a sign on the bathroom door so that no one would enter while they were down in the Chamber. Harry and Remus were well used to hearing the exclamations of wonder from people who entered the Chamber for the first time. When they finally made it into the library, Professor Newell was suitably impressed.

"You say these books belonged to Salazar Slytherin?"

"Well, we think they belonged to all of the Founders," said Harry.

Professor Newell saw Hermione reaching to pull a book from one of the shelves and told her to wait. He then pulled out cotton gloves for everyone, "Never touch rare objects with your bare hands. The oils on your skin can cause them to deteriorate."

Harry and Remus both looked at each other knowing that quite a few of the books had already been touched.

"How do you know these were from the Founders?" Professor Newell asked.

Harry walked over to the sitting area and picked up Salazar's journal. Remus, smirked, knowing Harry was setting up the new professor just as he'd set up Severus earlier.

"This is Slytherin's diary."

The professor took the book reverently and opened it only to exclaim, "There's nothing but nonsense here! You try that again Mr. Potter and you'll be spending time in detention."

Remus realized the joke had backfired so he stepped in, "Apparently this is what Parseltongue looks like written. Harry can translate it for you if you'd like."

"My apologies, Mr. Potter. Could you please translate a bit of this for me? I'd like to try to verify its authenticity."

Harry did as requested and also learned more about the building of the castle and the interactions between the four founders. After that, they all were able to pursue their own interests while the new professor examined the find. Hermione had latched on to a book from Rowena Ravenclaw and was enthralled at its contents. Harry went on to read some more of the diary while Remus looked for anything pertinent to DADA. After about two hours, Professor Newell was done with his initial inspection.

"Well, this is an even bigger challenge than rebuilding the history curriculum. You have a shrewd Headmistress. I think for now this is the best place for this to stay until we can find another location in the main part of the castle to house the collection. Are we certain the bathroom is the only entrance?"

"Well, I've never looked, to be honest. I've always been a bit preoccupied before," said Harry.

"Could we look a bit further then? I'd hate to have to bother you every time I wanted to come down here, Mr. Potter."

After sealing up the entrance to the library, the four started to look in different areas. Remus stopped them all from separating and had Harry go with Newell and kept Hermione with him. There was no telling what could happen if he left those two teens to their own devices. There were other hallways off the main chamber, but they all ended up bringing them back to the central chamber. Remus suggested Harry hiss at the walls again as he'd done to enter the library, but that didn't prove useful either. For now, they'd just have to be content with Harry bringing Professor Newell down when he wanted to visit.

OoOoOoOoOo

Life at the castle settled back into its normal routine of classes and Quidditch practice. Their first Potions class had been an interesting experience. The classroom was now divided into three camps – the Gryffindors, the Slytherins without accused Death Eater parents, and the Slytherins with accused Death Eater parents. That meant Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Parkinson all shared an area. Apparently the other Slytherins didn't want to be tainted by the Death Eater stigma. Malfoy's group had taken the area by the door with the other Slytherins in the middle and the Gryffindors on the right. This was actually a good thing as far as Harry was concerned because it would be harder for the usual suspects to throw anything into his cauldron. Harry was still partnering with Neville which was helping the other young wizard tremendously. While his potions still weren't perfect, he was developing a bit of confidence. It had actually been over two months since he'd had a cauldron explode or melt.

Severus was also looking over his class of third years with similar thoughts. He'd already heard of several altercations within his own house of students bullying those whose parents had been arrested, with Malfoy taking the brunt of it. He was, for lack of a better term, being shunned by his house. This was a new experience for the young man; something Severus hoped would get his attention and change the path he had been taking. He had been surprised that Black had supported Draco and Narcissa given the past history of both families. He'd been even more surprised when he'd been invited to their New Year's reception. He'd politely declined, yet he'd been somewhat touched. Minerva had been the only other Hogwarts staff invited, but that wasn't unexpected. The wolf didn't count as he was somewhat a part of the Potter-Black family. Speaking of the wolf, he needed to talk to him. He'd made some progress with the adjustments to the wolfsbane potion and was considering trying it at the end of the month with the next full moon.

Hermione had been surprised to get a note from Professor Burbage inviting her to a meeting of Muggleborn students to provide suggestions on improving the Muggle Studies curriculum in preparation for the new class of first years. The note said there would be a male and female student from each year in the group. Justin Finch-Fletchly from Hufflepuff was the other third year. She recognized Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater's, name on the list. She remembered her from last year's petrifications as well as being Percy Weasley's girlfriend. Colin Creevey and Angelina Johnson were the only other Gryffindors in the group. While she recognized some of the other names, she couldn't say she actually knew them. They would be meeting on Thursday nights; one of the nights Harry had Quidditch practice. Ron decided he would talk to Percy about using that night for extra tutoring.

Ron was actually enjoying the extra work. He'd found Harry's discussion about intent and confidence really was a lot of his problem. The new wand was much better and, once he got over the hurdle of treating it like Charlie's wand, he was having much better success. Hopefully he'd be able to feel like he was actually up to the same level as his other classmates in a few weeks. He would never be a Percy, much less a Hermione, but he could at least be a solid student. Granted, Divination would always be a bit of a problem, but he was gaining more confidence in his activities.

OoOoOoOoOo

Minerva floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron to find Sirius already there waiting for her. They were finally going to Gringotts to talk to the account manager for Hogwarts. She'd received the quarterly statement from Gringotts on the first of January and had quite a few questions. Apparently there were several sub-accounts that were receiving money but she couldn't figure out exactly what they were for. Sirius, as the designated representative from the Board of Governors, was also curious about some of the distributions as well. Minerva had sent him a copy of the statement once she'd received it. Having completely forgotten about the events in the bank the last time he'd been there, he was totally shocked when they arrived there and were given a priority escort to the head teller.

"Friend Black, how may Gringotts be of assistance to you today?"

Sirius quickly checked the teller tag before addressing the elder goblin, "Thank you, Bogrod. Headmistress McGonagall and I have an appointment with Clinkshaft."

The head teller snapped his fingers and two younger goblins appeared instantly. He handed them a glowing mace and said, "Escort Friend Black and Headmistress McGonagall to Clinkshaft immediately and be hasty about it!"

One goblin got in front and the other behind. The one in front had the glowing mace and everyone in front of them hastily got out of the way. 'Well, this is different', thought Sirius. They stopped before another non-descript door where the lead goblin knocked, then opened the door for them and ushered them forward. He said in a loud voice, "Friend Black to see Clinkshaft."

The goblin leapt to his feet at once.

"It is an honor to serve you, Friend Black. Headmistress McGonagall, thank you for answering our letter so promptly. Please sit down. I was under the impression that your former account manager, Lightfist, had already done the formal change of account holder with you upon Albus Dumbledore's death. When we received your inquiry, we immediately began an investigation."

"You said former account manager, Clinkshaft. May I ask what happened to him?" inquired the stern witch.

"Shall we say he is no longer in accounts management," the goblin said with a feral smile.

Sirius paled at that. Whatever they had found must have been extremely serious to have resulted in the goblin's 'removal'. He didn't know if Minerva understood that this was the goblins' way of saying he was no longer on this plane of existence.

Sirius decided to take charge of the meeting to begin with, then he was sure Minerva would join in.

"Could you explain the different accounts, Clinkshaft? We are confused by some of the account names. We understand the general operating fund, the scholarship fund and the student assistance fund, but these others are confusing, especially the one labeled 'Fawkes'. There seems to be a steady flow of funds through some of them."

"These are precisely the irregularities that we uncovered. For example, the Fawkes account is actually an account that is strictly for accounting purposes. As we discovered in our audit, there is a standard deduction each month of 10,000 galleons from the general operating fund transferred to this account. Each month 7,500 galleons of this is transferred to another account which, in turn, is transferred to another account, which happens several more times. Some months there is an additional withdrawal. We were finally able to trace these withdrawals to an account for an organization I believe you both are familiar with; The Order of the Phoenix."

While Sirius should be surprised, he wasn't; Minerva was seething.

Sirius stepped in and quickly asked, "Shouldn't this have ended in 1981 when Voldemort was first defeated?"

"One would think so, but it has continued each month."

"I'm afraid to ask if this was the final destination of these funds," Minerva asked.

"Actually, no. While not a monthly occurrence, every few months, a withdrawal was made and deposited in Albus Dumbledore's personal account. Where it went after that, we do not know."

"I'm going to dig that man up just so I can curse him!" she exclaimed.

"While I'd like to join you in that event, we'd just be wasting good magic. Let's see what we can do to fix this," replied Sirius.

The three got down to work. When they were done, they had it set up so that there was one account for all payments received. Those marked for specific accounts, such as the scholarship account, would be immediately routed there. There were now accounts for the operation of the castle, staff salaries, scholarships, and student assistance. The castle operations fund was then divided out to include castle maintenance and repair, food, a fund for each house (very small), Herbology, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. They then determined a budget for each account based on historical data. The only one without a budget would be the scholarship fund as it was wholly dependent upon donations. Awarding of scholarships already had a specific formula. Until they were all certain they had everything on firm footing, the three would meet at the first of each month to determine if they needed to tweak their decisions.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry had been invited to a staff meeting which surprised him. When he arrived, he found a seat back by Remus and tried to keep a low profile. Once Professor McGonagall explained the reason for the meeting, he breathed a sigh of relief. They were trying to find another way to provide access to the Chamber of Secrets without having to bother Harry each time someone, most particularly Professor Newell, wanted to study the contents. He wasn't surprised when Professor Snape had the first negative remark.

"If we make an opening where just anyone could enter, the Weasley twins will be down there turning the entire Chamber into their new experimental laboratory."

That got a laugh from all present. Charity Burbage had a thought, "Perhaps we can see if there is an area in the castle with appropriate protections."

Harry thought a bit then had an idea, "Professor McGonagall, what about the room Dumbledore had stored all of my old mail in? People already stay away from that area because of Myrtle. Couldn't it be fitted out like the one in the Chamber and the books moved there?"

"That's a very good idea, Mr. Potter."

Professor Newell asked, "Can the temperature and humidity be controlled? What about access?"

"I'm certain they can be controlled, but perhaps Pappy can help us."

Minerva summoned the head elf and asked him those questions. They were able to set the room up as requested, however, someone would need to be in the Chamber for the elves to move the books. Apparently the Parseltongue requirement meant that nobody, be they human or elf, could enter that area of the castle. The decision to make the move was made and a date set. Once the Chamber was open, Remus would call Pappy to inspect the room and make necessary changes to what Harry and Remus called the mail room. With that settled, Harry was released to return to his dormitory and finish his homework while the teachers continued their meeting.


	64. Life Goes On

**A/N: Two reminders. #1 - I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or settings. They belong to JK Rowling and her other entities. I'm just playing with them for a while. #2 - I do not post Guest reviews. I try to respond to most reviews, so posting as a guest doesn't help. Sign in and I'll be happy to respond to any comments or criticisms you may have (exceptions - reviews that are just "I like it, post more, etc" I just file away in the email folder I have set up for this story. Now, on with the show!**

 **64\. Life Goes On**

It was amazing how time passed so quickly for all. Sirius had been caught up in both the impending Death Eater trials and the nominations for a permanent Minister. The discussions among the other Wizengamot members was that, once a new Minister was elected, they would then vote for a permanent Chief Warlock/Witch. It would be good to start off with a clean slate. So far, the only candidates he'd heard for Minister had been Amelia and Daniel Greengrass. He had been approached by several in regards to him running but he'd quickly squelched those rumors. He'd only been out of Azkaban a few months; he wasn't ready to take on the running of the Ministry. The trials he was on his way to would have a large impact on how things would flow in the months and years to come.

As they paraded each of the prisoners through the Wizengamot, it became abundantly clear just how bad things had been during the first war. While the impact on the magical world was well known, they had not known the extent of the damage to the non-magical world. They had not necessarily placed the dark mark over every place they had attacked. The Aurors had interrogated all of the prisoners under Veritaserum and made extensive notes of those areas that had been attacked. Amelia had met with the Muggle Prime Minister and provided those details to him. While those activities had taken place during the previous PM's administration, he was familiar with some of them. He provided the list to his Home Secretary telling him he had received the information from a source of unquestionable integrity. That there had been a terrorist organization operating in the country was known, but no one had been able to capture anyone involved. When the attacks had abruptly ceased, the Scotland Yard and MI5 had moved on to more pressing matters.

Rather than repeat the questioning under Veritaserum for the Wizengamot, they had provided an abbreviated version instead which was then played on a pensieve for the members to watch. The details of all of the misdeeds would be more than most of the wizarding world could stomach; the Aurors had had enough of a problem listening to the sordid details. As with Malfoy, the sentences had been to strip them of their magic and send them to Muggle prison. Where victims of their crimes could be identified, reparations were also awarded. Most of the convicted wizards' families had been left virtually destitute. Their heirs would have a hard road to travel to return their houses to their former glory. Amelia had also discussed the possibility of sending the convicted now squibs to Muggle prison with the Prime Minister and he was only happy to oblige. No one would believe them about the magical world, thinking they were delusional. The dark mark on their arms would appear to be a tattoo of a new gang they belonged to. They would also be spread throughout the prison system and not placed in one location.

OoOoOoOoOo

At Hogwarts, life had settled down into its normal routine. Feedback on the new professors had been very positive, especially when it came to Professor Newell. He had requested additional texts to supplement the one they were using. When he was told there were no funds for that at the moment, Remus had talked to Harry about it and he'd agreed to use the basilisk fund for them. As there were only a few NEWT students, he would only provide for those through OWL year. The students would be allowed to keep the books and they would be added to the book list the next year for incoming students. These texts provided a European perspective on events rather than focusing solely on British history. One was strictly for events in the twentieth century. Around the history room ceiling was a timeline of major events in wizarding history since the founding of Hogwarts. Professor Newell was hoping to expand upon the earlier years once he had time to review the documents of the Founders.

Transfiguration had also morphed into a different process. While still keeping with the syllabus provided her, Professor Vance had some additional practical exercises for her students to do. Some were quite entertaining, especially when Harry's class got to turn a teacup into a hamster. Points were given for most original, closest to species and best appearance. Ron actually had fun with that exercise as he turned his cup into a hamster with fur looking like a chessboard. It had taken him several tries before he was happy with it, but his end result did a lot to bolster his self-confidence. Seamus had transfigured his into something more suited for Hagrid. Neville had gone more for the norm and had a brown and white striped hamster. Harry had gone for fun and his was rainbow-colored. Hermione had gone for a textbook hamster so hers was a long-haired golden hamster. There was a lot of laughter during the exercise, but it had been a success in showing that intent really did make a difference in their spell work.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Tuesday prior to the Wizengamot meeting found Sirius at Hogwarts for the monthly Board of Governors meeting. He'd come early again so he could meet with Remus and Harry. Instead of sitting at the Head Table with the professors, he'd insisted on sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry and his friends. He was entertaining the twins with more of the pranks the Marauders had played when they were students. Someone asked him about being an animagus and the next thing you saw was a big black dog running around the Great Hall begging for food. He came over to Minerva and gave her a big slobbery kiss. She was trying to hold back a laugh, but it didn't work. She had yet to see his animagus form and it made her proud to have taught the young man, even if she hadn't taught him the animagus transformation. Luckily Professor Trelawney wasn't in the Great Hall or she'd be predicting everyone's doom at seeing the Grim-like animal. What really brought the house down was when he went over to Snape and begged pitifully for a scrap. The Potions Master had given him an angry glare and strode out of the Great Hall.

The Board of Governors meeting was a bit more relaxed than the previous one. Minerva gave them an update on the new professors and the Board was happy to hear they were settling in well. When they heard about the new books and where they came from, the Board offered to reimburse Harry, but Sirius declined, stating that the money was from the basilisk and Harry wanted to use it for good when he could. They had been quite concerned over the financial health of the school when given the complete report of the visit to Gringotts, but once Minerva and Sirius outlined the new budget strategy, they were willing to give it some time to see how it worked out.

She then went on to discuss the planned additions to next year's curriculum. She told them about Professor Burbage's Muggle Studies planning group that was working to provide feedback on what would need to be included. At this point, there was no available text to use, so they were going to build a curriculum from scratch. The first year would also be a synopsis of Muggle history which would dovetail nicely into the new History of Magic curriculum. For the coming year, both first and second year students would be taught the same information with some additional information about technology for the second years. The following year, the second year class would be taught about technology and innovation. One thing the working group had been adamant about were field trips to various places. They suggested one should be to the British Parliament, trips to various museums as well as to an amusement park and another to a cinema. Those should give a wide variety of experiences to the wizard-raised students. Someone had suggested taking an aeroplane ride, but that had been quashed due to cost, but a segment on Muggle transportation in general was included. Those currently enrolled in Muggle Studies would be allowed to continue to OWLs, but would also incorporate the new curriculum into their studies.

The Wizarding Culture class needed a champion to begin work on the curriculum. At the moment, Aurora Sinistra was going to take on the challenge, but she would much rather have someone identified as the professor to work with building the class. Sirius had recommended _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_ as a potential starting point as Harry found it quite informative as had Hermione. Since this was going to be only for first and second year students, there was a thought that perhaps only a part-time professor would be needed for it. Someone asked if it would be possible to combine the faculty position for both Latin and Wizard Studies so that was taken under advisement. It was then the Board members, to a one, looked at Sirius, then Lord Greengrass verbalized all of their sentiments when he suggested Sirius teach the course. While Sirius tried to back out of it, he did agree to work with Professor Sinistra on developing the curriculum until a permanent professor could be hired. He also stated that if he took a teaching position he would have to give up his place on the Board of Governors and he wasn't inclined to do that. That had also stopped everyone from suggesting another member. However, after a quick thought, he put forth Narcissa Black's (she had dropped the Malfoy name with Sirius' agreement) name. It was tradition within the Black Family to teach Latin to their children. Narcissa was also fluent in French and had a passing knowledge of Spanish as well. Sirius agreed to approach her about the position.

They were happy to hear that a place had been found for the Founders Library in the main castle and the elves were going to move all of it over the weekend. Once moved, a full catalog of titles would be developed and then they would be ready for the announcement to the rest of the wizarding world. There was a long discussion about how to control access to the treasure. Because it contained so many rare titles, there would not be a general open house, but they would have one press conference which would allow anyone from the media to come and take pictures. It was also a general consensus that Salazar's diary would not be kept with the rest of the titles. Sirius said that during the summer Harry would hopefully have time to translate the book and then the translation would be placed in with the rest of the artifacts. Until then, Minerva would keep it in the Headmistress's office. For those scholars who wished to do study, they would discuss at a later time how access would be arranged. For now, they would announce that those opportunities would be made public at a later date. Someone had asked if Bathilda Bagshot would be given preference, but the Board decided that everyone should have equal opportunity to study the find.

Once the meeting was over, Sirius spent some more time with Minerva going over the budget. He suggested that now was the time to get requests in from the professors for items they would need for the next school year. They set a target for February 28th for submissions then a budget could be built from there. Sirius reminded her of the Muggleborn scholarship fund the Potters had endowed, but suggested they not take that into consideration when planning the budget. That would give them a cushion of surplus funds if all else worked out. He also told her that Harry was thinking about increasing that fund from the money he'd received from Umbridge and Albus. Minerva had a good laugh when thinking about Dolores Umbridge funding Muggleborn scholarships. She'd probably be turning over in her grave. The only thing better would be to use the funds for the Wolfsbane potion for werewolves. That got Sirius howling.

OoOoOoOoOo

The atmosphere in the Wizengamot was solemn. There were now five more vacancies on the Wizengamot in addition to Lucius Malfoy's. Draco had already appointed Narcissa as his voting proxy until he comes of age. It was expected that the other heirs would do likewise but there just hadn't been enough time since the trials to make it happen.

The business of the Wizengamot settled back into routine. Ludo Bagman gave his monthly update on the Quidditch World Cup. Amelia had been waiting until the new Minister was elected to fill the position of the Director of International Magical Cooperation, but it was getting too close to time, so she'd asked Amos Diggory to step into the position on an interim basis. She wanted someone trustworthy overseeing such an important event. Ludo had been warned that his job was on the line if there was even a hint that he'd been gambling ever again. He'd settled his debts with the Goblins with the money he'd gotten from Umbridge and they had cancelled any further credit.

The floor was then turned over to Minerva for her presentation on the state of Hogwarts. She essentially gave a repeat of her presentation to the Board on Tuesday. There was quite a bit of discussion on the new classes, especially the mandatory requirement for Muggle Studies. The need for Wizarding Culture was understood. There were mumbles about why this was now just happening and you could hear whispered 'Dumbledore' around the room. Just about everyone in the chamber wanted to give her a raise just for getting rid of Binns and bringing in a competent professor. There was concern about the financial stability, but Sirius was able to ameliorate these concerns by reminding them that they were now meeting monthly with Gringotts and establishing a set budget process. Once Minerva finished, most of their concerns had been answered. They asked her to come back in three months and give them an update. For now, they would expect Madam Marchbanks to bring up any concerns they might need to address. Since Hogwarts was not a Ministry-run entity, there wasn't a lot they could do for or against it. They just wanted to be sure their future wizards and witches met the standard expected of them.

After the meeting was over, Sirius stopped Narcissa before she could leave. He invited her to tea the next afternoon so he could propose the position at Hogwarts to her. Minerva saw them talking and Sirius gave her a surreptitious wink to let her know that was, indeed, the subject he would be discussing with Narcissa.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sirius was waiting by the floo when Narcissa came through and escorted her to the sitting room. Kreacher brought in refreshments for them and quickly popped away.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you here."

"Yes. I assume this is Family Business, Lord Black."

"No, actually, it's not. And please, call me Sirius when we're alone. This is something completely removed from Family Business, in fact."

"Then please call me Cissy. I'm intrigued, then."

"How much are you aware of the plans for changes at Hogwarts?"

"I'm afraid I've heard nothing other than about the two new professors."

"Well, they are coming and they are major. There will be several new subjects beginning next year. The first and second years will also be taking Latin and, depending on background, Muggle Studies or Wizarding Customs and Culture."

"Those are major changes. But as Draco, as well as Harry, will be fourth years next year, I don't see where it affects me."

"We are trying to find professors for them. I know you are well-versed in Latin, as well as French, and know all pertinent Wizarding Customs and what it means to be a wizard or witch."

Narcissa was shocked! Was Sirius asking her to become a professor?

"I'm confused, Sirius. Are you offering me a professorship?"

"I am asking you to sit down with Minerva and the new deputy, Charity Burbage, and listen to what they have in mind. Neither Latin nor Wizarding Customs would be a full-time position, but together they would be."

"Even considering the most recent difficulties?"

"Your appointment would have the full backing of The House of Black."

"My first concern would be texts for the Latin class. I was taught with Black Family grimoires, so I'm not sure what is available."

"You might consider talking with the staff at Beauxbatons to see what they use. If not, then we can investigate Muggle texts. I'm certain we can find suitable texts there. According to Miss Granger, it's still taught in many schools.

"That would be a consideration. Perhaps we can get a catalog from several of their textbook companies. Possibly Ted Tonks or the Grangers would be able to find those for us?"

"I'll speak with Ted first, then the Grangers if he's not sure. Oh, they've already got Aurora Sinistra working on the Wizarding Culture class, but she really wants to hand that over to the professor to build since it's a new class. I've already suggested _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_ as a potential text."

"That would be a start. I'll spend some time thinking about it. Naturally, I would need to discuss this with Draco. He may not like having his mother on staff."

Sirius laughed, "He can ask Harry about what that's like. While Remus isn't a parent, he has a sort of parental role. It's only been an issue once, so I think it will be fine, plus he will not be having you for a professor which should help."

"Then I will contact Minerva and see if I may be of assistance."

The two spent some more time discussing the events in the wizarding world, especially the additional convictions and their implications. As she was now the proxy for the Malfoy seat, she would need to pay closer attention to the inner workings of the Wizengamot. She would look to Sirius for guidance in matters before the body. While Sirius was flattered, he told her he expected her to vote her conscience first and foremost.

OoOoOoOoOo

February brought a respite from the dreary days of January. There was a Hogsmeade weekend on the 12th and then the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match on the 19th. Oliver was really gung ho about the season and was trying every chance he could to spend time with the team discussing strategy. The other members took turns reminding him that there was a two practice per week limit until the week before the match.

The Founders' Library had been brought up and established in its room on the second floor. Wards had been set up so that no one would be able to remove a book and then the announcement was made to the entire school of its existence. There was an open house for the students to at least see what was available. The open house for the media was held on the fifth and the publicity it brought was even more than they had expected. It took Bathilda Bagshot no time at all to request a private viewing, but she'd been given the same line Minerva had given the paper in that it was not yet ready for public use. Madam Pince had been spending time there helping develop the catalog for it. She had several seventh year students she trusted to act as library assistants to monitor the library at times when she needed to be in the other location. Percy Weasley had been one of those to take on that role. He was greatly interested in the Founders Library and was looking at what would be involved in becoming a curator. He had originally thought about a career in the Ministry, but after seeing another option more to his liking, he began to pursue it. Professor Newell had spoken with the young man and was working with him on a possible joint apprenticeship to include both library and historical archives. If it panned out, there would be an assigned assistant for the Founders' Library.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down to Hogsmeade to spend part of the day. Harry had gotten a call on his mirror from Sirius the night before asking him to meet him for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. He agreed enthusiastically. While talking on the mirrors was great, it didn't have the same effect as in person. Hermione, however, was still enamored with the set of mirrors he'd given her for Christmas and she'd been bugging Remus to show her how to make them. As it was a Marauders' secret, he declined, but he did agree to make a third one for her so that both her mother and father could have one.

They wandered around the town as they normally did, making stops at Honeydukes and Scrivenshaft's. They had both assured Hermione that they would stop at Tomes and Scrolls after lunch. Better to save the heavy stuff for last.

When they arrived at the Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosemerta directed them upstairs to the same parlor Harry and Sirius had been in when they met with Rita Skeeter. When they entered, they saw Remus was there as well.

Hermione, thinking that they might want to be alone, asked the question, "Oh! Professor Lupin! I didn't realize you would be here too. Did you two want to be alone with Harry?"

Ron, finally reacting to the elbow in his ribcage, chimed in reluctantly; he was looking for a free meal that wasn't Hogwarts' cooking, "Yeah, uh, we can leave if you need to talk to Harry."

Sirius chuckled, "No, I don't think you need to leave. Just one bit of business to talk about with Harry. If you could give us a minute, then we'll bring you back in." He motioned over to the warm butterbeers on the table for them to drink while they talked to Harry.

Once they had moved to another part of the room, Sirius cast a silencing bubble around them. Harry asked what was so secret.

"Well, I got an owl from Sandra Milken yesterday. Do you remember her?"

"Isn't she the woman from the Muggle Child Services?"

"That's her."

"What did she want? Is there something wrong with the guardianship?"

"No. Nothing like that."

Remus could see Padfoot's uneasiness, "Padfoot, just show him the note."

Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, handing it to Harry. Harry took a few minutes to read the note, then looked at the two older wizards, "So he's really gone."

"Yes."

"Am I supposed to be sad or something?"

"No. Not at all. He really was a bastard. However, another problem has arisen. Apparently there is a question about burial."

Harry snorted, "Tell them to ask Marge what she wants to do with the elephant. Do they even make coffins big enough for someone his size?"

"Probably have to custom make it, but yes. Well, your answer is about what I told her when I floo called her this morning. If they already have a burial plot, then it's a bit easier. Anyway, I told her it wasn't your problem and she wholeheartedly agreed. She just wanted you to be aware of it."

"And there's really a place called St. Brutus?"

"Apparently there is, in fact, a juvenile detention facility by that name," said Remus.

Harry had to laugh, "Well, it's fitting that Dudley found himself there. Apparently he's not the top dog anymore either. A little humility might serve him well. Can I get Hermione and Ron back in?"

"Just a minute. Firebolt has the 32 brooms ready for delivery. Cleansweep said they'd be ready by the first of March. Nimbus just didn't have the manufacturing capability to get that large of an order done with any timeliness. So when would you like to do the presentation?"

"Well, before the next Quidditch match would be good. I'm sure you can keep them stored at Potter Manor until then. What about the weekend before the next match on the nineteenth? So I guess that makes it the twelfth. If you want to invite the Board of Governors, that's OK with me. Just as long as my original request is honored. Say, plan it for noon?"

"I think that will be fine. I'll work it so the Board comes out for a "field trip" that day."

"That works." Harry got up and brought Hermione and Ron back in the group.

They came back with Hermione giving him that "look".

"It's OK. It wasn't that secretive. Uncle Vernon died in prison yesterday."

Hermione gasped and put her hand to her mouth before Harry jumped in, "Don't give it a thought. He's not worth it."

"So, what happened?" asked Ron.

"Ronald! If he wanted you to know, he'd tell you!" said Hermione.

"Actually, I was just about to tell you. He was out in the prison exercise yard – now that's a bit of poetic justice – when he had a heart attack. He was gone before anyone could revive him. He should have lost at least a hundred pounds years ago. The same thing will happen to Dudley if he doesn't lose weight too."

"Still, it's sad when anyone dies," said Hermione.

"I'm not going to mourn him. They don't even know what they're going to do about a funeral since Aunt Petunia is also in prison. I just told Sirius that's their problem. Large Marge can take care of One Ton Vernon. Oh! Want a laugh? Remember me telling you about them saying I went to St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys?"

"Yeah, mate," said Ron.

"Well, there is a St. Brutus' and that's where they sent Dudley!"

That did get a laugh from around the room. With that over with, they got down to lunch and talking about whatever else was going on in the wider wizarding world. Sirius would be there next weekend for the Quidditch match. He was interested in the feedback from the students about the new professors. Professor Vance was vastly different from Professor McGonagall, but not in a bad way. She was gifted in her approach and all agreed they were learning a lot. Once done, the teens departed for more shopping while the two remaining Marauders reminisced a bit.


	65. Elections

65\. Elections

February nineteenth dawned bright and sunny, even if it was cold. Oliver was up early, cheering the team on. They all trooped down for breakfast. Harry had long gotten over his pre-Quidditch jitters and dug into a healthy breakfast. Who knew how long it would be until they got lunch? Soon it was time to go down to the locker rooms to change. Harry figured that after a cursed broom, dementors, a cursed bludger and an idiot professor banishing bones, everything else was gravy. Even the horrible weather during the last game didn't faze him anymore. Finally, they walked out onto the pitch and the game began. Cedric Diggory was a very good Seeker, but his broom was no match for Harry's Firebolt. The snitch was being troublesome, but by the time Harry spotted it, Gryffindor was up on Hufflepuff 80-70. With the final score 230-80, Gryffindor let out a mighty yell and claimed their victory. Only one more game and the Quidditch Cup would be theirs.

Harry spoke to Sirius briefly before following his team to the locker room and then to the Tower where a party was sure to be in full force. Sirius had already moved the cases of butterbeer into the secret passageway under Honeydukes. Sirius had finally clued the owners into its existence, but it was no secret to them. After seeing money laying on their cash register and product missing over the years, they'd figured it out and usually left it open. They were actually happy that Sirius was putting it in the tunnel for the twins.

Sirius joined Minerva and Remus for lunch and then spent some time with her and Charity Burbage. Narcissa had spoken with Minerva and she'd offered her a preliminary contract for the combined Latin/Wizarding Culture position. Since she was going to be working with Aurora on the Wizarding Culture curriculum, she was now drawing a small salary. Sirius had heard back from Ted Tonks with no success, but the Grangers were able to get a catalog from the private school Michelle had attended. It was paying dividends for several possibilities, including Muggle Studies. They also discussed renaming the course from Muggle Studies to Non-Magical Customs and Culture to make it seem comparable to the Wizarding Culture course. Sirius said he'd work with Gringotts and Flourish and Blotts to set up a Muggle business account for the shipment of the books once it was decided what they wanted to get. Being a Friend of the Goblins had its advantages.

They also discussed the overall atmosphere of the school with the conviction of all of the Death Eaters. While some bullying had happened initially, it had settled down. Sirius said he was aware of that with Draco. Minerva said that Sirius had actually helped out with his policy for not blaming the sons for the sins of the fathers. Sirius mysteriously told them to have an open calendar for the twelfth of March. There would be a Board of Governors "field trip" that day.

"And what is the purpose of this field trip?"

"Can't say. But it will be worth your while. Oh, and make it a mandatory assembly for the students too."

"This isn't one of your Marauder pranks is it?"

"Oh no, but it may be the beginning of the Junior Marauders. However, you will be pleased with it," Sirius said with a grin.

"If it is anything bad, I'll have you back here scrubbing cauldrons in Severus' lab."

"Headmistress, if it is, I'll be more than happy to do so. And Harry will join me."

With that little teaser out, they adjourned their meeting and went their separate ways.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Board of Governors meeting was another working session going over the new curriculum and a more thorough examination of the budget. By and large, they were pleased with the budget system Minerva and Sirius had worked out with the Goblins. There was concern about the increase in the staff salaries as a result of the new courses, but there was actually a surplus there from the years Binns had been there. The additional funds they'd received from Dumbledore's estate had also gone a long way in beefing up the overall health of the Hogwarts account. Sirius privately suspected that some of that wealth had come from Hogwarts originally and not in the form of the Headmaster's salary. The Board had also analyzed the salary history for both the Headmistress and Deputy and made adjustments, to the new incumbents' benefit.

They also discussed the changes to the curriculum as well as new staff. They were actually pleased when they heard Narcissa had agreed to take the Latin and Wizarding Culture classes and supported Minerva's decision to pay her a stipend for the courses' development. St. Mungo's had agreed to supply a healer for the Healing class for a set fee. They asked for an update to the, now-named Non-Magical Culture course for the next meeting. Charity was quite happy to do so; proud of what her committee was developing. When all was said and done, it had been a good meeting.

At the end, Sirius told them he was calling for a special meeting of the Board for the twelfth of March. He did not give them the reason, only that it was essential that it be held that day and that it be a luncheon meeting with the students. He wanted the members to sit with the students and be approachable to them more than they had been in the past. It was a member's prerogative to call such a meeting and, once Sirius had couched it in the way he had, the Board was quite supportive. Once the ball got rolling, they began discussing who would be sitting where, with the understanding that they would not sit with their child's/grandchild's house or their own house. Sirius would be sitting with Slytherin; he'd been the first to volunteer. He wanted to see what would happen with the former Death Eater's children/grandchildren with him there. Daniel Greengrass volunteered for Gryffindor. Now was a good time to start breaking down the house rivalries. Once that happened, the Board quickly divided themselves between the four tables.

OoOoOoOoOo

The full moon brought the first test of the modified Wolfsbane potion. Since it was unknown whether the changes would render the potion inert, Remus volunteered to spend the night at Potter Hall with Dobby keeping watch. As at Christmas, Minerva would come and place additional wards on the room. He noticed the change in taste in the potion, but it was not unwelcome. Once he'd taken it, he floo'd to Potter Hall for the night.

Knowing his friend was part of an experiment, Sirius decided Padfoot needed to spend some time with Moony. While he tried to protest Sirius' presence, he was grateful for it. Once he'd transformed, the two played around the training room for a bit until Remus curled up and went to sleep; Padfoot's head laying on him.

When he woke up the next morning, he felt surprisingly well! He was not as sore as he usually was and there were fewer self-inflicted injuries. He would tell Severus the change was an unqualified success! Sirius woke up and questioned his friend and was also quite happy with the results. They'd have to let Lily know she had found new aid for their friend and his furry little problem.

OoOoOoOoOo

Tuesday, March 1, was voting day in the British wizarding world. Sirius had kept his promise and allowed the Ministry to use 93 Diagon Alley as one of the two polling places. With all of the seventh years and some of the sixth years eligible to vote, plus the faculty and staff, Minerva offered the use of Hogwarts as the alternate polling place as there really wasn't a decent sized building available in Hogsmeade. There were several unused classrooms on the first floor that were easily made available. The elves had done a thorough cleaning, then set the room up as requested by the Wizarding Election Council (WEC). Hagrid's classes had been cancelled so that he could monitor the gate, allowing people to enter. There were a pair of Aurors at the gates with him as the first of several checkpoints to ensure only qualified voters were allowed entry. At the front doors, another pair of Aurors rechecked each person. At the entrance to the hallway with the empty classrooms, members of the WEC did the final vetting of anyone who wished to vote. It was a very simple activity. They were given a piece of parchment with the two names on it, took it to one of the private booths provided, then they just tapped the box with their wand next to the name they wished to vote for. The ballot then registered the name of the voter and the vote cast. Once done, they returned the ballot to a sealed box at the desk. Hagrid, since he was now a wizard in good standing, was pushed to the front of the line and allowed to cast the first ballot at Hogwarts.

There had been quite the discussion throughout Britain about qualified candidates, but it had ended up between Amelia Bones and Daniel Greengrass. So far, it appeared to be a very close race. The Weasley twins were running book, taking bets on who the winner would be. For them, too, it was a close race. The Hogwarts students had been the first group allowed through at seven. Voting opened up for the rest of the country at eight. Voting would end at eight that evening.

In the Ministry, everyone had been told to use one of the two voting locations; there would not be one in the Ministry itself. Absolutely NO campaigning by anyone was allowed within 1000 feet of any of the polling places. Ample time was given for each employee to cast their votes. The department heads had worked out a rotation to allow their people time to vote and keep the Ministry operating. Dobby had been working with the WEC to set up the Diagon Alley location and, by all indications, had done an outstanding job. He popped in and out bringing tea, pumpkin juice and biscuits to the poll workers.

Both Sirius and Gerald Howe had been one of the first to cast their votes. They wanted to ensure the location was set up to the election's overseer's satisfaction. They also wanted to be seen exercising their right to vote their conscience. Amelia chose to vote at Hogwarts, thus giving her a few minutes with her niece, Susan. Daniel Greengrass took the Diagon Alley option as he felt that would be the one with the most publicity. There were witches and wizards of all nationalities representing the local and international press associations. There was a decent sized group camped outside the Hogwarts gates as well as in Diagon Alley. A German reporter had tried to get past Hagrid and quickly learned not to mess with the Hogwarts gamekeeper.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the polls closed. Hagrid closed the gate and placed the wards Minerva had taught him on them. The WEC representatives would be flooing from Minerva's office when they had completed their tasks. Once that was done, either Minerva or Charity would come and place the standard wards on the gates that were on them on a daily basis.

The WEC had decided to use the Diagon Alley location as their headquarters for the day. The Hogwarts team brought back their ballots to be combined with the ones from Diagon Alley. The WEC had a self-updating parchment with the final votes, but it would be validated by the WEC before the announcement. This normally took all night as they manually separated the ballots, however, Sirius told them that Dobby could do it in a matter of minutes, so they used this as a test. If the count the elf got matched the self-updating parchment, then they would consider the vote validated. If there was an error, then they'd use their own manual method. Sirius was confident the elf would get it right, so he and Gerald waited outside with much of wizarding Britain. The WWN was there broadcasting live as well. They had taken every opportunity to interview anyone of any status throughout the day. Amelia and Daniel were also in the crowd; both thanking their supporters. Finally, the moment came and the chief of the WEC, Wyatt Twiddle, came out with the members of his team behind him and ascended the steps of the podium Dobby had placed for him.

After casting a _Sonorus_ , Mr. Twiddle made his announcement, "Good Evening, wizards and witches of Great Britain. First, let me commend you for the practically flawless election today. It is my understanding that the Aurors had to arrest only a dozen voters and most of those were from imbibing too much of Lord Ogden's Finest."

There was laughter throughout the crowd and even those listening in on the WWN chuckled.

"There was a very close election today with each candidate bringing honor to their campaigns. The final tally was 53 percent to 47 percent. Our new Minister for Magic is," and he paused a couple of seconds, "Amelia Bones!"

With that announcement, fireworks began to go off in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. They were quickly stopped by the Aurors in Diagon Alley lest the muggles investigate, but Hogsmeade was sufficiently distant from other towns so they went on for a while yet.

After making her way to the top of the podium, Amelia had a few words to say. She'd provide a more detailed version to the news outlets along with her plans for the future at a later date.

"Thank you, witches and wizards of Britain! I am humbled by your faith in my leadership. Last October, you entrusted me to lead us out of a particularly dark time, one the likes of have not been seen since the fall of Voldemort." She watched the majority of the crowd flinch at that word.

"Our Chief Warlock and the sitting Minister were implicated in multiple crimes resulting in many of you losing faith in your Ministry. I was asked to assume the temporary leadership by the Wizengamot until such time as elections were held.

"I believe in the intervening four months, positive change has been seen in our world, but we still have a long way to go. We have been zealous in the prosecution of those who had previously slipped through the judicial process, ensuring these criminals can never again harm us. We have also been open in these prosecutions, ensuring no one is ever again incarcerated unfairly and illegally. I have begun to place people in positions of trust that you can, in fact, trust. I still have several key positions to fill. I was not comfortable filling these in the temporary role I had. My first priority is to fill the Senior Undersecretary position. I promise the person I select will be someone you can place your trust in to run the Ministry during any absence I may have. This individual will work with me to make this world a better place for all magical beings be they witch, wizard, goblin, werewolf, house elf, merperson, centaur or any other sentient being. We will lead our world into the future; a future dependent upon our willingness to change and accept these changes.

"Tonight, let us go home to our loved ones for tomorrow, the real work begins. Thank you again for your confidence in me."

Amelia stepped down to thunderous applause. Ragnok, Silvergrip and Griphook, disillusioned to look human, also surveyed the crowd, finding themselves clapping along with the rest.


	66. Attack!

**A/N: Time for a little excitement. Just a reminder, I don't own the characters from Harry Potter. Those belong to Madam Rowling.**

66\. Attack!

It had quieted down some in Harry's universe. Potions was still bearable. Snape was still snarky but not intentionally mean as he had been. The work Harry and Hermione had been doing with Neville had paid off well and he was no longer a shaking leaf around the Potions Master. Now if they could just keep Seamus from blowing up cauldrons, there would be at least one Gryffindor/Slytherin potions class that could work things out.

Harry and Hermione had been heading back to Gryffindor Tower from the Runes study group in the Library when it happened. They'd been near the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a group of six students (at least they hoped they were students) doing an impression of Death Eaters with their faces obscured. Harry and Hermione were quickly separated.

"Think you're too good for the rest of us, Potter?" asked one.

"And you, Mudblood, have no right to be here," said another

"She has as much right as you do, dirtbag. At least she has honor; something none of you do!" yelled Harry. This was met with a punch to the gut which put him on the floor, then a kick to the kidneys. Someone else cast _Petrificus Totalus_ on both of them, preventing them from moving to defend themselves.

"Shut up Potter. You're here to listen to us now. We don't like what you and your blood traitor father did to our families. You're going to find out just how much we don't like it."

The next thing that happened was someone cast a _Densaugeo_ spell at Hermione causing her teeth to start growing. He could hear and feel stinging jinxes and other curses and imagined Hermione trying not to cry out. Someone cast a blasting hex at him, breaking his leg. Then he heard someone cast _Crucio_ and his world turned to pain.

When the pain stopped, a familiar female voice said, "How do you like that, Potter? Let's see what else we can do with your Mudblood girlfriend." Harry heard another _Crucio_ , but this time on Hermione. He was trying to think what he could do, but he knew Remus, or any other professor, was too far away. While he was trying to come up with an answer, someone else kicked him, breaking a rib or two. The only thing he could think of was Dobby.

Harry quickly whispered the elf's name and he came with a pop. The next thing he saw was the group of six students blasted against the wall and bound with ropes. Dobby then released the body binds on them.

"You will not harm Harry Potter sir or Harry Potter's Grangy!"

Fawkes flashed into the hallway and started crooning a soothing melody.

" _Rest, nestling. Use your elf to summon help. I will stay with you two until it arrives._ "

"Dobby, go get Remus and Professor McGonagall, then get Madam Pomfrey. Tell Professor McGonagall to get the Aurors too."

"Dobby is not leaving Harry Potter! Harry call Cassie. Cassie gets Mistress Headmistress and Master Wolfie."

"Fawkes will keep watch. I'd rather you get the Headmistress instead of an elf she's not familiar with."

Dobby popped off quickly. The next thing heard throughout the castle was "All students return to your dormitories immediately," in Minerva's voice. A few seconds later, Dobby popped Remus to them.

"Harry! What happened?"

"We got ambushed," Harry said weakly.

He tried to sit up, but couldn't "How's Hermione?"

Remus was just checking her over when Dobby popped back with Madam Pomfrey. Remus quickly filled her in and let her take over Hermione while he checked Harry.

"Madam Pomfrey is tending to her. How did they get tied up?" indicating the six in various positions against the wall.

"Dobby tie the mean bullies up, Master Wolfie. Bullies be hurting Master Harry Potter -Black sir and his Grangy!"

"Thank you, Dobby," said Harry. He sure loved that little elf, "Can you bring Sirius here?"

"No. Dobby cannot bring someone in or out of the wards," he said with drooping ears.

 _"I will get your father, nestling. Lie still;"_ the phoenix flashed out. A minute later, Sirius was there. Seeing the shape the two teens were in, he asked Harry how he felt.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Hermione. Can you get her parents too?"

Taking that as an order, Dobby popped out and then there were the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching. Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Burbage, and the other three Heads of House were followed quickly by two individuals in Auror robes. Harry recognized Tonks and Shacklebolt.

Madam Pomfrey asked, "Do you know what curses were cast, Mr. Potter?"

" _Densaugeo_ , a blasting curse of some kind on my leg as well as stinging hexes and _Crucio_ are the only ones I heard."

There were gasps all around at the mention of the torture curse.

Remus asked, "Who was the _Cruciatus Curse_ used on?"

Two voices said together, "Me."

"I need to get these children to the Hospital Wing now! You can ask your questions later! Severus, I'll need your assistance!" said the Mediwitch before casting an immobilization charm on Harry's leg. As soon as that was done, Fawkes flashed Harry directly to the Hospital Wing.

Sirius chuckled, "Well, I take that to mean Harry's already there."

Shacklebolt was the Senior Auror, "We need to get these bindings removed so we can cast our own. Who cast these?"

Remus answered "Harry's elf, Dobby, apparently did," nodding at the little elf still standing there. "Minerva, will you send a message to Hagrid that there are, or will be presently, visitors at the gates? I'll go down and meet them then escort them to the Hospital Wing."

Minerva sent off her _Patronus_ to Hagrid while Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher for Hermione. then propelled it two flights down to the Hospital Wing.

Harry found himself on his "usual" bed with Fawkes continuing her song. Once the rest of the group arrived, Madam Pomfrey put Hermione on the one next to him. A quick switching spell later and they were clad in hospital pajamas. He fell back against the pillows, exhausted. The next thing he remembered were potions being thrust at him. He asked about Hermione, and got a weak, "I'm okay," from her. He heard someone else enter and then another vial was put to his lips. This one brought immediate relief to his sore and twitching muscles. One more vial and he was quickly asleep.

Remus and the Grangers entered the Hospital Wing almost at a dead run. Dobby was holding on to the Grangers' hands, giving them an anchor to the magical world so they could see what was happening. Only the Headmistress/Headmaster or Deputy could provide something solid to bypass the wards for Muggles. Professor Burbage met them and took care of that in no time; Minerva was staying with the Aurors who were taking the assailants into custody. Michelle went to sit with Hermione while Sirius and Ian got the story from Remus. Professor Burbage was also hearing the story for the first time. Dobby told them what he'd seen when Harry called him.

It wasn't long before Minerva and the Aurors entered the room. They were disappointed that the teens were asleep, but after having been under the _Cruciatus_ curse, it was more than understandable. They would contact Sirius the next morning to set up a time to interview them. Minerva then sent Remus off to Gryffindor Tower to explain the attack and tell the Weasleys they would get more information later but they were not, under any circumstances, to come to the Hospital Wing. The adults talked quietly among themselves. Tonks was conflicted. She had her role as an Auror, but also her newly assumed role as part of Hermione's magical guardian family and part of Harry's family as well. Since the Grangers were there, she reverted to her Auror role. She'd let her parents know as soon as possible.

The Grangers themselves were having a hard time comprehending the damage the _Cruciatus Curse_ could do. Charity was the only one there who could explain it in terms they could understand. Imagining themselves hit with a bolt of electricity for several seconds had them terrified. Did they want to keep their child here where such horrors could happen to her? Sirius explained the background on what provoked the attack. It was an attack on Sirius more than Harry and Hermione. Minerva had quickly transfigured a settee and armchairs for the group and had the elves bring up a tea set. She wasn't sure whether to have Poppy lace the tea with calming draught, but decided not to for now.

"So who were those death eater wannabes?" asked Sirius.

"Three were from third year: Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. The other three were all seventh years: Aloyicius Yaxley, Mercer Mcnair and Marcus Flint. All were Slytherins. Severus is livid," said Minerva.

"Has anyone checked on Draco?"

"I don't know. Severus was going down to the common room to talk with the rest of his house."

"Michelle asked, "What will happen to them?"

"It will be up to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Regardless of who they are, they will not step foot in Hogwarts again. The three third years will probably have their wands snapped. The other three will find themselves in Azkaban, especially whomever cast the _Cruciatus_ _Curse_ ," said Minerva.

At that moment, a silvery falcon flew in and spoke in Amelia's voice, "I've just learned of the attack. Please let me know how the children are at your earliest convenience."

They were all a bit surprised that the Minister for Magic would take that close an interest in two students. Then again, it could have been her niece who'd been attacked. Sirius got up and asked to borrow Poppy's floo.

While he was gone, Remus returned to the group and gave his report, "Well, they are all pretty shaken, but once I reassured them that Harry and Hermione would easily recover, they settled down. I left instructions with the Fat Lady that no one was to leave the dormitory until after curfew is up in the morning. If a medical emergency comes up, the portraits have been instructed to notify Madam Pomfrey. I had Percy do a head count to ensure everyone was accounted for."

"Very good instructions, Remus, perhaps I should have the other houses do likewise. I'm going to call a Heads of House meeting in my office shortly to provide more details. I will return when it is over." Both Charity and Remus left with Minerva, leaving Sirius and the Grangers alone with their thoughts. Poppy came by to see if they needed anything and was heading back to her office when Sirius invited her to have a cup of tea with them.

"Lord Black, you do realize your son is going to test my skills to the maximum, don't you?"

"Poppy, how long have you known me?"

"Since you were a first year."

"And since when have you called me Lord Black?"

"Well, I just thought …"

"You will always have permission to use my given name. Now, please help these fine people understand what you are doing with their daughter."

"Forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

Ian spoke for both of them, "It's Ian and Michelle, Madam."

"Yes, well, at the moment, I've given them a mild sleeping draught to give the other potions some time to do their work. I gave them both healing and pain relieving potions immediately. The potion Severus brought in is specifically designed to help heal the worst parts of the effects from the _Cruciatus Curse_. It combines a muscle relaxer and a nerve regeneration potion as well as a different form of pain reliever. When they wake up again, they should only have lingering effects. Once they've had a chance to see you and have reassured you they will be fine, I'll give them a Dreamless Sleep potion and they'll sleep through to the morning."

"You can really cure the damage from this kruxius thing?" asked Ian.

"If it is not held for too long, then the effects are easily countered with the potion Severus has designed. While it won't cure severe cases, it can rapidly repair damage caused by limited exposure. I'm not sure just how much power the casters had to put behind it as well."

Michelle asked, "Why does that matter?"

Sirius explained, "Magic is more about intent than anything else. Here, let me show you." Sirius held up his wand and whispered a quiet " _Lumos_ ". There was a dim glow at the end of his wand. After cancelling it, he bellowed a loud " _LUMOS_ " and the tip lit up like a spotlight. That gave the Grangers a better idea of what he was talking about, "Whomever cast the spell had to have intent to harm, but it depends on how powerful a wizard they are and how malicious they intended it to be. All things considered, I think Harry and Hermione came off relatively well."

"My scans show the damage to be minor, so their recovery should be reasonably rapid. If you wish to take them home in the morning, they should be ready to leave. It will depend on how they are when they wake up. Under no circumstances are they to perform any magic until at least Sunday."

True to her word, about an hour later, they began to stir. Harry was the first to wake up. Floundering around for his glasses was the signal to the adults that they were waking. Sirius picked them up and gently placed them on his face.

"How are you feeling, pup?"

"Like I was run over by the Hogwarts Express. Did you get them?"

"Yes. You can thank Dobby for that. Good idea calling for him. He had them trussed up and knocked out waiting for the Aurors to get there."

" _Hmph!_ " said Fawkes, " _If you'd have called me first, little one, I'd have taken them all to Ministry holding cells._ "

"That's okay, Fawkes, I think this worked out better with the Aurors coming here." Turning t Sirius, "Who were they?"

"We'll talk about it later. The main thing is you're okay."

"How's Hermione?"

"I'm sore, but mostly okay," he heard the weak voice from the other bed. Harry turned towards her and saw her parents with her

"You mean they can see everything?" he asked, surprised.

"Yup. Dobby held onto them until Professor Burbage could get them charmed bracelets to allow them to see past the Muggle repelling wards. They can see everything just as we can now." At that, both senior Grangers held out their arms showing the plain gold bracelets on their wrists.

"Mr. Potter," interrupted Poppy, "Are you feeling pain anywhere?"

"Just a little tingling in my legs. My back hurts a little too."

"Yes, you were kicked in your kidneys several times causing severe bruising. That's always a bit painful. They appear to be healing up nicely and should be fine in the morning. I've already fixed your leg up and the two ribs that were broken. I can give you another dose of the anti- _Cruciatus_ potion in another three hours, but for now, another healing and pain potion should help." She thrust two more potions at him and made sure he drank them, then went over to Hermione.

"And you, Miss Granger?"

"Still some tingling too. How about my teeth?" She'd always been self-conscious of her front teeth and her parents hadn't let her have them fixed.

"Your teeth should be fine. I adjusted them as I thought fit, but if you need them adjusted further, please let me know." She handed Hermione a hand mirror. Once she saw them, she was more than happy, "No, this will be fine, Madam Pomfrey." Her parents took a good look and were also surprised at the change.

"Why did you need to fix her teeth," asked Michelle.

Sirius explained, "One of the curses she was hit with was one that caused her teeth to grow. It's really a low level hex, but in the old days, when fighters wore armor and helmets, a hex like that could render the face protections moot."

At that moment, the Hospital Wing doors opened and Remus and Severus walked in. Severus was the first to speak, "Will you require more potion, Madam Pomfrey?"

"I suspect I'll need another dose for each. Thank you, Severus."

"I'll have a house elf bring you another two vials. I'll have to brew more if you think you'll need it."

"No, that should be fine. They are both recovering nicely."

Ian got up and walked over to the surly professor with his hand out, "Professor, I'm Ian Granger. I'm in your debt for this potion."

Severus put up a hand to stop him, "It is my job to brew healing potions for the school, sir. No thanks are required nor expected."

"Well, thank you anyway."

That wasn't going to stop Michelle, though. She walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek and eked out a, "Thank you, Professor."

The whole of the Hospital Wing were in shock. Sirius and Remus both suspected the person who'd last kissed him had been Lily.

Recovering, he said, "Black, a moment of your time."

The two men walked away from the others before Severus put up a silencing ward, "Mr. Malfoy was insistent he speak with you. He feels you may blame him for not knowing or warning about the attack. He'd actually been immobilized in his room at the time. We found him after a head count was conducted."

"I will come down to your office shortly. I want to stay with Harry a few more minutes before Madam Pomfrey sends him off to dreamland."

"I will have him waiting in my office then." The dour man turned and strode out of the room.

After a few more minutes, Madam Pomfrey issued out the aforementioned Dreamless Sleep potion, guaranteeing it would be morning before her two patients stirred. Fawkes maintained her vigil on the headboard of Harry's bed. Sirius suggested the Grangers stay at Potter Manor so they would have immediate access to the Hospital Wing if something changed. Sirius escorted them both through the floo, then called for Dobby to pick them up some clothes for the night. Cassie set them up in the same room they'd had over the New Year's holiday. Knowing they'd have a hard time relaxing, Sirius had gotten a calming draught from Poppy and had Cassie lace their tea with it. Dobby could take one of them back to their house in the morning long enough to cancel their patients for the day and pack a couple of changes of clothes. Once they were settled, he went back to Hogwarts.

After checking on the two teens again to ensure they were still sleeping peacefully, he made his way down to the Potions Master's office. Draco looked even more pale than he usually did. As soon as Sirius entered, he jumped up and bowed, "Lord Black, thank you for meeting with me. I realize you are quite busy at the moment."

"Relax, Draco. Now, do you want Professor Snape here or would you prefer some privacy?"

"I have nothing to hide from my Head of House, sir. He is also my godfather. It may be best that he hears the same information I have for you."

"Snape?" asked, Sirius.

"I would like to remain. This incident has all of Slytherin on edge."

"Could we get something to drink, then? Tea or hot chocolate maybe?" asked Sirius. He wanted to relax the situation as quickly as possible. A tray with both quickly appeared. Once they'd served themselves, Sirius sat back and told Draco to start.

"There had been rumblings in the Common Room over the past several weeks about getting back at Heir Potter-Black. They'd been bullying me repeatedly since the start of term."

"Your mother passed that information to me. I asked her if there was any assistance I could render, but she assured me you were handling it. And no need to be formal, Draco, it's been a long evening for us all."

"Thank you. It might have made things worse if you had stepped in. It is common knowledge that they have an Ancient Runes study group Thursday nights in the Library since both Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis are in it. I think they'd already passed the information to H-Harry and H-H-Hermione to be careful." Draco still wasn't comfortable using Potter-Black's and Granger's given names.

"Harry didn't tell me who it was, but that there had been some murmurings. With his history the past two years, he takes threats with a grain of salt. Remus and I told him to make sure he had at least one other person with him at all times, even in the bathroom."

"About an hour before curfew, Flint and Yaxley came in my room, tossed a few hexes at me then said they were going to make sure a little ferret like me couldn't ruin their plans. Then they cast a petrifying curse on me. I heard them shut the door and ward it to keep anyone else from entering."

"My Prefects were unable to break the ward. It was especially complicated and one that is taught to many Death Eaters. I had it down fairly quickly and was able to determine there had been no major harm to Mr. Malfoy," said Severus.

"Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey, Draco?"

"No, sir. Professor Snape has seen to my injuries."

"Thank you Severus," Sirius said with a nod to Severus, "Do you feel you are still in danger?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, sir. Zabini's mother is pretty neutral. Nott was actually happy his father was arrested. He didn't agree with his father's stance on being a Death Eater."

"What about others in your house?"

"I think the worst of the group were caught. Assuming they are punished severely, that should get the word to the rest to leave me alone. If not, I will let Professor Snape know."

"If you feel the need, you may be excused from classes tomorrow and go home until Monday morning, Mr. Malfoy" said Severus.

"I think I'm fine, sir. Mother will be here tomorrow to meet with Professor Sinistra and I would like to speak with her then."

"I have already notified your mother of the incident and will ensure you are allowed some private time with her."

"Have you spoken with the Aurors yet, Draco?"

"Yes sir. Cousin Tonks and Auror Shacklebolt spoke with me."

"is there anything else you need from me, then, Draco?"

"No, Lord Black."

"Thank you for telling me this. I know it wasn't easy."

After leaving the dungeons, Sirius made one more pass through the Hospital Wing. Seeing both children sleeping peacefully, he asked Poppy's permission to use her floo, reminding her to call him at Potter Manor if anything changed; otherwise, he'd see her in the morning.


	67. Repercussions

A/N: You might have noticed that I've changed the rating of this story from K+ to T. There is some language in an upcoming chapter as well as some allusions to sexual assaults in a later chapter. There will be no details however.

67\. Repercussions

Sirius and the Michelle Granger were back at Hogwarts by seven. Madam Pomfrey assured them that their children were still just sleeping and should be waking up any time. She had given them another anti- _Cruciatus_ potion during the night to be certain they healed from the curse. Her most recent scans showed them relatively back to normal. Still, Severus had made another batch of the anti- _Cruciatus_ potion to be safe. Assuming all was well, she would release them to go home for the weekend. Dobby had taken Ian back to their house so he could call their office staff and cancel the day's appointments. He told them they'd both taken ill with food poisoning and were not leaving the house for a while. They were also having the phone go directly to the answering service for the day. Dobby waited while Ian packed overnight bags for both Michelle and himself. Dobby would pick up Hermione's trunk from her dorm room along with Harry's. Once Ian was ready, Dobby took him to Potter Manor to drop off their things, then helped him floo to Madam Pomfrey's office.

Remus was already in the Hospital Wing when Michelle and Sirius arrived. He'd had a hard time sleeping the night before, knowing his cub had been hurt. Most of the night had been spent watching the two teens sleep. As the three adults were settling in, a crowd of red heads invaded the room.

"How's Harry?" asked Ron.

"And Miss Granger?" asked Percy.

Sirius stopped them before they got going and took them over to an out of the way corner to talk to them. If he didn't slow them down, Madam Pomfrey would be tossing them out on their ears.

"Settle down. I just got here, but, as you can see, they are still sleeping. Remus has been with them for the past few hours and he's seen nothing to concern us. They've been sleeping peacefully. Once they wake up and are cleared to travel, we'll take them to Potter Manor for the weekend."

"Can we come visit them?" asked Ron.

"I think a quiet weekend is what they need right now. They still have to talk to the Aurors and I'd rather do that at home. They should be back on Monday, assuming they are completely well. Now, I believe you have breakfast to attend to. Remus will keep you updated."

Remus came up at that point, "Yes, we do need to go to breakfast. Minerva has made it mandatory for everyone to attend. She has a few choice words to impart upon the student body. Come now, let us not be late," and led the group out of the room.

Hermione was the first to stir. Opening her eyes and seeing her mother there brought it all back to her and she bolted into her mother's arms.

"Shhhhhh. It's all over sweetie. You're fine. Are you in any pain?"

She felt the head of bushy brown hair shake 'no'. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office to check on her patients. Seeing the scene before her, she went to Harry's bed first. Waving her wand, she nodded her head in satisfaction, "It appears all of the after effects are now gone and all bones repaired satisfactorily. Once he wakes up and eats a decent breakfast, I will release him with the understanding that he spends the weekend quietly. That means no death defying acts on his broom."

"I'm going to see if Healer Winslow can spend some time with them this weekend. A session or two with a mind healer wouldn't be amiss either," said Sirius

"An excellent idea. Now, let me check on Miss Granger."

Hermione had calmed down somewhat and had moved back to her bed when the mediwitch came to check on her. Finding similar results to that she'd found with Harry, she gave the same words of caution. Michelle assured her they would be spending a very quiet weekend at Potter Manor."

"You mean we're not going home?"

"We can if you'd like, sweetie, but having both of you together will make it easier for the Aurors to speak with you. Plus, if you did start to feel bad again, we can get to Madam Pomfrey quickly through the floo there. I was against it, too, until Sirius spelled it out like that for us. Your father is cancelling today's appointments and should be back here anytime."

The mother and daughter continued to speak quietly while waiting for Ian and for Harry to wake up. It wasn't long before the latter happened. Harry made an automatic grab for his glasses.

"Why do I always end up here?"

Sirius laughed, "It's in your nature. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Harry paused for a minute before the events came flooding back, "Bloody Slytherins!"

"Language, Harry!" said Hermione automatically.

"Well, it's true! What's going to happen to them?"

"I haven't had a chance to speak with Minerva this morning. She's addressing the school right about now. I don't think you'll have to worry about them again."

"So when can I leave?"

"First, you need to tell me how you're feeling, Mr. Potter-Black, in words other than 'I'm fine,'" demanded Madam Pomfrey.

Harry gave a short laugh, "The tingling is gone. The pain in my back is gone too. I think everything is back to as normal as I can get. The leg's still a bit tender."

"Then while I am ordering some breakfast for you, you may take a shower and dress. You too, Miss Granger."

Dobby brought Ian through the floo shortly after then popped back to get clean clothes for Harry and Hermione. Ian updated his wife on the arrangements for their office. He confirmed he'd used the food poisoning story as discussed. If necessary, they could get some Puking Pastilles from the twins if someone needed "proof."

OoOoOoOoOo

Things were solemn in the Great Hall, especially at the table of the serpents. Six of their number were now in the custody of the Aurors. While there may have been others that secretly agreed with the actions, none of them would have ever thought about acting on those thoughts. As it stood, the attack against the Heir to two Ancient and Most Noble Houses as well as a protectee, what the Ministry hadn't taken, the six families accused of the crimes now stood to lose everything in reparations to Potter-Black and Granger.

Once sure the Hall was filled, Minerva stood up and tapped her knife on her goblet. The Hall quieted instantly.

"Thank you for your attention. As you were told last night, two students were attacked in the corridors while they were returning to their dormitory from the Library. Unforgivables were used. Both Miss Granger and Mr. Potter-Black are recovering from their injuries and should rejoin us for classes on Monday. Their parents will be taking them home for the weekend, so there is no need to pester Madam Pomfrey about their well-being. Professor Lupin will be in contact with them and will let us all know if there is a change in their health.

"As for the culprits, they are currently in the custody of the Aurors. They will determine what, if any, charges will be filed against them. If charges against the six students are sustained, they will not be returning to Hogwarts," she said, looking pointedly at all four tables.

A wave of horror went through the Great Hall. The purebloods and most of the half-bloods had been told at some point in their magical life the implications of being expelled from Hogwarts.

"The three seventh years are all of age and will be tried as adults before the Wizengamot. If charges are sustained against them as well, they will be at the mercy of the Wizengamot. Under no circumstances will they be allowed to ever step foot in Hogwarts again. Also last night, Professor Snape assessed a total of three hundred points from Slytherin House."

There was a gasp throughout the Hall. It wasn't unexpected that severe penalties would be assessed, but to have their own Head of House do it was virtually unheard of. Most of those in the Hall thought the almost empty point total was a malfunction of the tally system until they heard that statement.

"The professors discussed excluding Slytherin House from further competition in the House Trophy, but we all felt it would be a better incentive for you to try to regain those points lost through positive actions. I encourage you to accept the challenge. Points honorably earned will do much to remove the taint of dishonor on your House.

"Finally, let me make my position perfectly clear. Actions such as this will not be tolerated in Hogwarts under my Headship. Bullying of any sort will be met with stern discipline, up to, and including, expulsion. For those of you who are new to the magical world, let me explain what expulsion from Hogwarts means. For those who have not passed their OWLs, unless tutors are arranged through the Ministry to continue one's education, your magic will be bound and your wand snapped. You will be considered a Squib. For those who have attained their OWLs, you may pursue whatever career path you feel you are eligible for, knowing that many positions in our world require NEWTs to qualify. All will have charges filed with the DMLE if the act was considered criminal. Raising your wand against a fellow student when not in a classroom teaching setting is sufficient to refer to the Aurors. You have been warned. If you are aware of any instances of bullying, I urge you to report this to a professor or myself. If we are made aware of any instances of bullying that others were also aware of; those who know, but fail to act, will be treated as if they committed the infraction. Last night, the staff established a new Student Code of Behavior. I am providing each of you a copy of that new Code." She waved her wand and copies appeared where the plates usually sat.

"Please read this thoroughly. If you have any questions, please seek out your Head of House or one of your professors. I will have a meeting after dinner with the Head Boy, the Head Girl and the Prefects to expand upon what this Code means. Does anyone have any questions at this time?"

She looked upon the sea of faces and almost to a person, heads were shaking. She then tapped her wand on the table and breakfast appeared.

OoOoOoOoOo

Rather than eating with her staff and students, Minerva left for the Hospital Wing. She'd told Poppy to keep Miss Granger and Mr. Potter-Black there until she could speak with them. She had their copies of the new Code of Behavior, too. When she entered the Hospital Wing, both were working through the breakfast Poppy had the elves bring them. Sirius was talking with the Grangers. Minerva really liked the couple. She'd had some time to speak with them at the Potter-Black reception and found them delightful.

"Good morning. How are you doing Miss Granger, Mr. Potter-Black?"

Hermione answered first, "Very well, Headmistress."

"Good, Professor," echoed Harry.

"Apparently there will be no lasting effects from last night then?"

Both students shook their heads 'no'.

"I wanted to offer you my apology for last night's events."

Before she could go further, Sirius interrupted, "No need for an apology, Minerva. There's no way you could have known that would happen. I'm just happy you haven't put up wards where outside elves can no longer enter."

"As long as you don't broadcast that fact, I won't either. Is there anything you need before you leave the castle?"

Hermione spoke up, "Could you get our assignments for the day, Professor?"

She chuckled, "Of course, Miss Granger. I'll have Professor Lupin bring them to you this evening. For today, I believe rest is the order of the day. Did you get a chance to speak with the Aurors last night?"

Harry answered, "No Ma'am. I think they're coming over later this morning."

"I wanted to personally bring you copies of the revised Student Code of Behavior. I've made it clear that we will be going by this henceforth. If you have any questions, or suggestions, I would welcome them. When developing these last night, Mr. Potter-Black, I realize that I was guilty of being a part of the bullying against you last year for the Heir of Slytherin events. I would like to offer a formal apology for my inaction."

Harry was too surprised to say anything other than thanks.

"Now, I suspect you are ready to get out of the Hospital Wing and spend some time with your families. I will see you Monday morning for breakfast unless you need me beforehand. Please let Poppy know if you have any aftereffects from the attack. Sirius, I have sent owls to the Board of Governors with the details of last night's actions. Yours is probably waiting for you. I suspect they will be calling an emergency meeting." She then nodded and left.

Before the group left for Potter Manor, Madam Pomfrey insisted on sending them home with several vials of pain potions as well as calming draughts and another dose of Dreamless Sleep each. She reiterated the Headmistress' words about calling if they appeared to be having more problems. Sirius took Michelle and Ian through the floo first, then Hermione and Harry followed. Once settled in the sitting room, Sirius let Cassie know they were now in residence. Dobby popped in with several letters for Sirius. He flipped through them and opened one.

"Minerva was right, there is a Board of Governor's meeting at four this afternoon. Anything you want me to pass on to them?"

Hermione thought for a bit, but then said no. So did Harry. Ian and Michelle wanted the culprits hung from the gargoyles on the North Tower. While they were sitting there talking, Tonks' head came through the floo asking if they could come through. Knowing they needed to get through this before they could do anything else, Sirius told them to come through. Again it was Tonks and Shacklebolt. Apparently, Scrimgeour had learned very quickly which Aurors were more likely to get a positive response from the teens. Even with Tonks being related, she would still do a professional job. Sirius had notified Gerald of the attack and had him join them for the questioning.

They all moved to the library since that was where the family pensieve was. This would be a new experience for the Grangers. Kingsley asked the teens to provide their memories of what happened starting from when they left the library until Remus got there. Harry had more experience with this after watching the ones of Tom Riddle as well as when he sent his memories to save Buckbeak. Hermione pulled hers out and put them in a vial so they could be watched next. They watched them back-to-back, then sat to discuss the events.

Kingsley spoke first, "This follows with what the three seventh years told us under _Veritaserum_. Apparently Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson were more for intelligence on your movements as well as extra muscle than the planning of the actual attack."

Tonks added, "I don't think Crabbe and Goyle have enough brain cells between them to plan a trip to the bathroom. Pretty much like their fathers."

Everyone laughed at that comment. Harry added, "Yeah, they're like bookends. It used to be Draco in the middle as the brains, but with him out, they don't know what to do with themselves."

"Apparently they know how to get into trouble," said Sirius.

Harry really wanted to know, and he knew it would come out in the trials, "Who cast the _Cruciatus_ on us?"

The adults all looked at each other before Sirius nodded; he wanted that information as well so he could bankrupt the family.

Kingsley said, "Marcus Flint both times. We checked his wand."

Hermione asked the other question they all wanted to know, "So what happens now?"

"The three older boys are in Ministry holding cells and will be bound over to the Wizengamot for trial. The three younger ones will appear before a panel of five members selected by the Wizengamot to hear underage trials. They cannot be sent to Azkaban or Kissed, but after that, just about anything goes. We've placed tracking bands on all three. They cannot leave their houses except to go to the Ministry or St. Mungo's," answered Tonks.

Harry got a gleam in his eyes, "Maybe we should suggest they strip their magic, what little they have, and send them to St. Brutus'. Then they can join Dudley in the 'I Hate Harry Potter' fan club."

Gerald laughed. He was still getting reports from Sandra Milken on the two remaining Dursleys. Petunia had taken a while to get adjusted, but she had begun taking classes in computers as well as other administrative studies; she would need a job when she got out. Dudley, on the other hand, had reacted badly. His bullying habits had gotten him placed on restriction almost immediately. He'd been assigned a therapist to try to help him adjust to life after St. Brutus, but was having difficulties. He'd been placed in remedial classes to make up for what he'd blown off at Smeltings. Of the two remaining Dursleys, Dudley was the one most in jeopardy.

Michelle then asked if Hermione and Harry would need to testify.

Kingsley answered, "Probably. The memories are pretty incriminating, but since the attackers had their faces covered, it can be a bit tricky. The fact that your elf took them out in one fell swoop also helps to limit who was involved. We also have Professor Snape's statement that those six were the only ones missing from Slytherin House when the castle was placed on lock down. We have Draco's testimony as well about the assault on him which will also go against the older wizards."

"Do you need anything else from these two, or are we done for now?" asked Sirius.

"Mum will probably be checking in on you later, just to warn you," said Tonks.

Sirius laughed, "I'm probably going to have to beat off Molly Weasley too. I'm surprised we haven't heard from her yet, but I guess having the castle locked down meant nobody could get to their owls until this morning. It also means we have some time before Barnabas or Rita try to get a statement."

"Minister Bones has asked for an update after we talked to you, just to let you know," said Kingsley.

"I spoke with her last night, so I know she's monitoring things. Don't let her get too close or we could have a case of improper influence," said Sirius.

The two Aurors laughed, "Rufus has already warned her," said Kingsley. They took their leave to finish up the paperwork.

With the house now empty of outsiders, Michelle urged the two teens to take a bit of a rest before lunch. Hermione wanted to spend some time in the library just reading. Michelle put her foot down and told her she would rest if she wanted to spend ANY time in the library this weekend. That quickly got her moving towards her room. Sirius gave Harry a similar look and he made his way up the stairs as well.

While the teens were up resting (and Michelle did go up and confirm it for herself), the adults discussed the events and the ramifications. During this discussion, Kreacher popped in and said that Master Wiltshire was trying to reach him by floo. Sirius explained to the Grangers that, with Malfoy and the other Death Eaters now out of the picture, Wiltshire was now the de facto solicitor for the dark faction. He asked the Grangers if they wanted to speak with him as well. Ian said, that while they didn't want to say anything, he'd be most interested in what the man had to say. They moved to the sitting room, which would be a more proper place to receive guests, then Sirius contacted him. A few minutes later, a distinguished gentleman stepped out of the fireplace.

He gave a deep bow, then said, "Lord Black, thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I wish to speak with you about last night's events. Madam Parkinson has asked me to act on her behalf."

"Certainly, Mr. Wiltshire. Let me introduce Ian and Michelle Granger, Hermione Granger's parents."

They all could see the sneer that wanted to appear on his face, but since he was the one with his hat literally in his hand, he kept a straight face.

"My pleasure. I hope your daughter is well as is your son, Lord Black."

Michelle said, "They are recovering," leaving out the 'no thanks to those thugs' remark she wanted to make.

"Roderick, let's dispense with the pleasantries and tell me what you really came here to say."

"Direct as ever a Black is known to be. Very well. I came to discuss options that may be suitable penalties for Miss Parkinson's actions. Her mother would like for her to be allowed to continue her magical studies with suitable tutors, at least through OWLs. We realize she will not be allowed to return to Hogwarts."

"I am not in favor of any behind the scenes manipulation. I will let the court determine the appropriate punishment."

"But your son will have a say in what that punishment will be. Surely you could speak to him about leniency at this young age."

Sirius laughed, "Are you seriously asking Harry to be lenient on someone who has, along with Crabbe and Goyle, harassed and heckled him since he arrived at Hogwarts. In fact, I plan to ask Rufus to add a charge of attempted line theft to the charges for all of the culprits. I asked Harry earlier what punishment he thought was fitting and his wish currently is that they be stripped of their magic and sent to join his delinquent cousin in a Muggle reformatory."

The look of shock on Wiltshire's face was apparent; exactly what Sirius was aiming for, "She would never survive in that world!" he whispered.

"Then she should have thought about the results of her actions before undertaking them. I will not influence my son in whatever he recommends."

Ian joined in, "Nor will we influence our daughter."

"However, I will be fully involved in determining appropriate reparations to my Heir and my protectee," Sirius said with a steely glint in his eyes. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was one wizard not to be toyed with.

Seeing he would get no break from these three parents, he quickly took his leave.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sirius arrived at Hogwarts early to give both Minerva and Poppy an update on Harry and Hermione. Poppy was happy to hear they'd been sent to their rooms to rest for the morning. He assured both witches that the two were being closely watched by Ian and Michelle as well as Dobby. Once the members were assembled, Griselda opened the meeting.

"Headmistress, would you provide us more detail about the attack last night?"

"In this case, I would like to defer to Lord Black as he's had more chance to learn about the entire episode."

Sirius went over the details from Harry and Hermione's memories. When he got to the part about the use of the _Cruciatus_ Curse on both of them, it didn't take long for the Board to vote for expelling all six members regardless of the trial results. They had asked Sirius what his preference for administrative action was, but he abstained from the discussion as well as the vote. Mr. Wiltshire wouldn't be able to accuse him of undue influence.

The Board also supported the new Student Code of Behavior policy and wanted to study it further for more changes.

It was Madam Wycliffe who brought up the elephant in the room, "These rules are good for the students, but what about the professors? Are they also held to the same standards? I'm sure everyone in this room has had many a complaint about Professor Snape."

Sirius was trying hard not to laugh and could see Minerva was also. She replied, "I spoke with Professor Snape after these rules were handed out to the students this morning. He is acutely aware that the expectations are higher for him as well as any other member of the faculty and staff. Any complaints of bullying or unprofessional behavior will be thoroughly investigated. While I believe in second chances; unlimited chances are not my policy."

Sirius, surprised he was actually doing it, said, "My son, Harry, has been one of the worst victims of Professor Snape's bullying. I can truthfully say that this year has been a vast improvement and I have had absolutely no influence on the change." Minerva gave a small smile, knowing Lily Potter was responsible for that.

Satisfied that the issue had been thoroughly addressed, the Board adjourned until their meeting with the students on the twelfth.

OoOoOoOoOo

The two families spent a very relaxing weekend at Potter Manor. Remus brought their homework for them to complete. They'd spent a quiet Saturday afternoon in the library completing their studies. Hermione was pleased with the reference material in the Potter library as some of the volumes were not included in the Hogwarts library. Remus gave them a personal DADA lesson covering what he'd taught in class the day before. There had been no practical exercise that day which the teens had to master. Their other main class had been double Potions. Severus had sent the instructions with Remus with a sneering, "They'll probably blow up the place." As Remus had been the better one at potions (Lily outclassed all four combined) of the Marauders, he was the one to supervise. An hour and a half later, two perfect potions were the result. They decanted a sample and labels were placed over the stopper with initials by the Grangers on Harry's and by Sirius on Hermione's. Remus would take them back to Severus for grading.

They also had visits from both the Weasleys and the Tonks. Molly had tried to come over on Friday when she had heard of the attack, but Sirius was adamant that the teens were resting and weren't accepting visitors. Once she had been reassured that both were recovered, she decided a nice cobbler would be a good 'get well' gift for both. Ian and Michelle hadn't been treated to Molly Weasley's cooking and were both in awe of the treat. Arthur said 'offhandedly' that he had a meeting with the Prime Minister's liaison on Wednesday. Sirius knew that seemed a bit unusual, so he was taking it as Arthur's way of telling him that he was preparing the way for the culprits to be sent into the Muggle corrections system.

Andromeda had waived off Sirius' plea for rest that day and said she would be over at three to do her own assessment of the pair. As a Healer and a Black, she was determined that nothing that affected the health of the Heir would go unchecked by her. She had a deep respect for Poppy Pomfrey, but this was a case of 'seeing is believing'. She was satisfied with their recovery, but cautioned Harry about putting too much stress on the leg that had been broken for a few days to give it a little more time to completely heal.

Saturday evening, they spent some time with James and Lily explaining what had happened and listening to stories about the Marauders. The Grangers were shocked at the casual way they had flaunted the rules. When Sirius said, "It was all in good fun! Well, almost all," Michelle said, "You'd best not be teaching my daughter any of these tricks!" to which Sirius retorted, "They don't need any help; they've been doing quite well enough getting up to mischief without my help!"

Poppy came by Sunday morning to give Hermione and Harry a thorough checkup. Finding them in good health with no after-effects from the attack, she gave them permission to again practice magic. When Ian tried to protest, citing the restriction on underage magic, Sirius enlightened them, much to Hermione's delight.

As a treat, Sirius and Remus offered to teach the _Patronus_ charm to Hermione under the condition that she would only practice under their supervision. Remus was currently teaching it to his NEWT students. When Hermione asked why not Harry too, Sirius just nodded to Harry and he pulled out his wand, uttering " _Expecto Patronum_!" All three Grangers were startled by the Otterhound that exploded from his wand. Hermione went into her usual response of fifty questions when Sirius settled her down and said Harry was under instructions to mention it to no one. It was a somewhat secret weapon in case someone else got the bright idea to send dementors after Harry again. They showed Harry the message version for him to practice.

After a few tries, Hermione was able to get the silvery mist that Harry had gotten during his initial attempts. Harry encouraged her, telling her to think of another happy memory. He confessed that he hadn't been able to get past the mist until after Christmas when he had a large supply of happy memories to choose from. Remus stopped her after a half dozen tries so that she didn't exhaust her magic; Madam Pomfrey would literally kill him. Instead, he offered to tutor her on Sunday afternoons which satisfied the young witch.


	68. A Clean Sweep

**A/N: As you can see, we're getting to the end of the year and, as a result, the end of the story. I'm working on events in April and May now. If there's anything you'd like to see happen, let me know. If I use your idea, I'll give you credit. Yeah, I'm running out of steam. Enjoy!**

68\. A Clean Sweep

Harry and Hermione returned to Hogwarts in time for breakfast on Monday. Dobby quietly placed their trunks in their rooms after classes had started to avoid being seen. Remus ensured they were both still feeling well after their DADA class, then sent them on to lunch. It was still very quiet at the Slytherin table since the attack. The table had absorbed the six missing students, but it was clear the table was less populated than the other three. There had been a lot of whispers around speculating on what would be the final result, however, everyone had one common thought – they'd never see those six people back in Hogwarts again.

Harry seemed to have a smirk plastered to his face the whole week. Hermione knew something was up, but Ron was clueless. Even the twins had asked to be let in on whatever prank he had planned. They knew that, as the son of now two Marauders, it had to be a good one. Remus knew what was going on and any pleas to find out from the three fell on deaf ears. On Friday, Minerva reminded everyone that lunch was mandatory on Saturday for all students, faculty and staff.

Once the stragglers had settled into their seats, the Board of Governors entered and Minerva introduced them to the students. They then dispersed to their selected tables and politely asked the students to accommodate them where they felt most comfortable. As a result, the members were sprinkled all throughout the four tables. Once lunch had been served, Remus passed a slip of paper down to Minerva.

"Still passing notes in class, Lupin?" asked Severus.

He smiled, then said, "Yes, but I think you'll find the results quite interesting."

Minerva opened the note and read its contents,

 _Minerva,_

 _Before dismissing the students, Harry and I have a presentation to make to the school on behalf of the basilisk._

 _Sirius Black_

She looked over to the Slytherin table where Sirius was in a discussion with some of the second year students and gave a slight nod. When it looked like everyone had finished their pudding, she stood and tapped her knife on her goblet for everyone's attention.

"Thank you for your attention. I would like to thank our Board of Governors for their time today and hope they found it enlightening. Hopefully, this will be the start of regular interaction between the Board and our students." 'Hah!' She thought. 'Let's see what the Board makes of that challenge!' "I have had a request from Lord Black and Mr. Potter-Black for a moment of your time before we adjourn."

Sirius and Harry made their way to the front of the room to rolling eyes and groans. Minerva had conjured a platform that would raise them enough to be seen by everyone. Sirius cast a _Sonorus_ on himself first.

"Good afternoon! Sorry to interrupt your weekend any further, but Harry and I have a short presentation to make before you go back to your regular activities. If the Headmistress, Madam Hooch and the four Heads of House could join us?"

Harry used that line to call Dobby, and the next minute, one large and four small wooden crates appeared on the floor before them. Once the requested individuals were on the podium, Sirius cast the charm on Harry and let him have the floor.

Harry coughed, then said, "As some of you know, one of my first experiences at Hogwarts was flying lessons. I was excited to learn how to fly. Like anything else here at Hogwarts, my first flying lesson couldn't be normal. One of the brooms went crazy and took Neville for a ride.

"I think everyone's heard that the basilisk provided quite a windfall. I thought it only right that some of it come back to Hogwarts. Most of you know the basilisk fund provided the additional texts for the History of Magic class. Well, we can't be all work and no play! One thing that's bothered me about Quidditch at Hogwarts is that sometimes the matches are won based on who has the better broom. Well, that won't be the case anymore. Professor McGonagall, in the four smaller crates are eight brand new Firebolts for each of the four House teams; seven for the players and a spare. The House name and position is engraved on the handle so there won't be any confusion as to which broom belongs where."

The Great Hall burst into noise with the clapping and whistling of the students, especially the members of the Quidditch teams. Griselda Marchbanks looked at Sirius and nodded as if saying, 'Well played.'

Once things quieted down, Harry continued, "The other case has a condition on it. Madam Hooch, this case contains 30 new Clean Sweep 6s to be used for flying classes as well as any other time a student wants to fly, but doesn't have their own broom."

The room erupted into total pandemonium this time. Realizing Harry was not finished, Minerva cast several loud bangs from her wand.

"I believe Mr. Potter said there was a condition on this gift," she nodded at Harry.

"Yes Ma'am. The condition is that I get to cast the first _Incendio_ on the bonfire made from the old school brooms!"

That got the whole hall laughing!

The Headmistress smiled, "I believe that can be arranged this evening, Mr. Potter. Perhaps the elves can supply us with a few marshmallows as well. Shall we meet outside near the lake at the conclusion of dinner tonight? All of our guests are also welcome to return as well. If Madam Hooch and the four Heads of House will take possession of our new brooms. Any other announcements, Mr. Potter-Black?"

"No Ma'am."

"Lord Black?"

"Er, no, Headmistress," said Sirius. He'd seen the twinkle in her eye at the whole set up.

"Everyone is dismissed to their afternoon activities."

OoOoOoOoOo

After most of the students and members of the Board left, the remaining people clustered around the two wizards. Griselda Marchbanks made the first statement, "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for this generous gift. The Board has not made it down the list of requirements to the point of replacing the school brooms, but we did have it as an item we hoped to be able to take care of next year."

Harry replied, "Well, I think you can cross that off your list permanently, Madam Marchbanks. I had my account manager set up a specific fund for Quidditch supplies. The interest will be available for the purchases. That can be brooms, uniforms, pads, gloves or other supplies." After he'd left Griphook's office at New Year's he'd had that idea. He'd run it across Sirius and Remus first and gotten a nod, so he sent a letter to Griphook asking that 50,000 galleons from the basilisk be placed in a special fund and added the restrictions. Remus would be the one administering it and was the only one, other than Harry and Sirius, who could authorize a payment from the account. He hoped the interest would be enough to replace the team brooms on a regular basis with the old ones rotating into the school brooms and then the older ones being "retired." If the school wanted to offer any serviceable ones for sale to the students after retirement, they were free to do so. Harry needed to get Gerald to draw up an agreement for that and told Sirius it would be a good idea. Sirius agreed and said he'd get Gerald on it the first of the week.

The remaining Board members also added their thanks as well, then departed. The twins came up to him next and began shaking his arms up and down, then began their "twinspeak".

"You are truly …"

"…a Marauder …"

"Harrikins!"

"Best prank…"

…played on the school…"

"Ever!" they said together.

Ron came up and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it was a secret, Ron! We didn't know exactly when the brooms would be ready and I didn't want the cat out of the bag. Plus, you're "borrowing" my Nimbus anyway. Hey Neville! Want to help me light the old brooms up tonight?"

Neville was quite surprised that Harry had singled him out, but was happy to help torch the splinters that had caused him a broken wrist. Ron looked a bit put out, but Harry explained his reason, Ron had to agree it was only right.

It was an active crowd who entered the Great Hall for dinner that night. They were buzzing about the new brooms. All of the Quidditch teams had wanted to try out their new brooms, but had to wait until Madam Hooch could set up pitch times for each team on Sunday. Two teams would have the pitch in the morning for an hour each and the other two in the afternoon. The early afternoon would be given over to any student who wanted to fly on the new school brooms. Harry was working on both Neville and Hermione to get them to try one of the new brooms as a comparison to the old, unsteady ones. Once dinner was over, the castle adjourned to the flat area between the lake and the Quidditch pitch.

Hagrid had helped Madam Hooch gather the old brooms into a pile. One of the elves saw what was happening and had some of the other elves help her bring out about three times as many brooms as they'd assembled. When asked where the elves had found the additional brooms, the elf just replied they were in the Lost and Found Room. As the students came down the path to the soon-to-be bonfire, castle elves handed them a long skewer with several marshmallows already attached along with graham crackers and a piece of Honeydukes' chocolate. All of the Muggleborn students understood the makings of S'mores and quickly showed their friends who were unsure about the combination how to assemble the treat. Finally, the audience had found a place around the pending bonfire. Rolanda Hooch had already made Minerva aware of the additions. Minerva cast a barrier so the fire would not burn out of control, but still allow the audience to toast their marshmallows.

Sirius had come back to see the completion of Project Clean Sweep as well as Daniel Greengrass and Griselda Marchbanks. Harry told both Sirius and Remus what he'd wanted to do with the bonfire with regards to Neville. Seeing how much larger the bonfire was getting, Minerva decided to add a few more professors around the circle to get the fire going after Harry and Neville had the first casting. Sirius and Remus had a secret bet between them whether it would take only one _Incendio_ each from the two overpowered teens or more would be needed. Sirius thought it would take more, but Remus was right and Sirius paid up grudgingly while Minerva just smirked at the two Marauders.

With the fire blazing brightly, the students moved up in waves to toast their marshmallows, then fell back to allow the others room. The elves had more supplies for the students to assemble their treats, but, after what appeared to be three rounds, she thanked the elves and sent them back to the castle. As the fire wound down, the students slowly made their way back to the castle and their common rooms before curfew. Finally, it was just a few remaining, including Harry and his friends, when Minerva asked Hagrid if he would mind putting the rest of the fire out. Hagrid brought out his wand and cast an _Aguamenti_ resulting in a large waterfall coming out of his wand. 'Big man, big spells,' thought the remaining group. Once the fire was out, the remaining professors tidied up the grounds before they all headed inside. Harry took a moment to hug Sirius and thank him for helping out with the surprise, then he and his friends departed for their common room.


	69. The Room of Hidden Things

A/N: My humble thanks to all who have read this story thus far. Last week I hit the magic 1MILLION views mark. Thank you!

69\. The Room of Hidden Things

March was continuing to be a busy month. The 19th was a Hogsmeade weekend and the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match was the next weekend. The Easter break began April 2. Harry was planning a trip to Potter Villa for those who wanted to go. It was iffy if Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would allow the twins and Percy to go since they had OWLs and NEWTs, respectively, coming up. It was beginning to look like the group would consist of Harry and Sirius, Remus, the Grangers, Ron and Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Tonks. This would allow Ron and Neville to share a room, but Tonks had asked to share a room with Hermione so she could play big sister. To keep things even, Ginny was allowed to bring a friend and chose Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw who lived near the Burrow. Pixie had been alerted and was ensuring the house was ready for company. Rizzo would also join them to handle the cooking for them all.

Squeezed in among those dates were the hearings for Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson on the 24th, the full moon on the 27th and the Wizengamot meeting (and the trials for the older former students) on the 31st. As the end of the year was looming closer, the teachers began assigning even more homework, especially to the OWL and NEWT students.

Harry and his friends were sitting at breakfast one morning when a blond girl with a faraway look came up behind him and spoke, "Hello Harry Potter. I see the wibblewabbles are flying around you. Perhaps if you spoke with the Grey Lady, she can tell you how to rid yourself of them."

"Uh, hi. I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"I'm Luna Lovegood and I'm spending the Easter holidays with you."

"OH! You're Ginny's friend. So what are wibblewabbles?" He'd taken a look at Hermione and Ron and they were both rolling their eyes.

"Wibblewabbles are attracted to people who are desperately searching for something. They will help guide you in your quest. They are different colors. These are blue, so they indicate something or someone a part of Ravenclaw can help you. Whenever I have blue wibblewabbles, I've always found the Grey Lady very helpful."

"Uh, well, thank you Luna. Do you know where I might find the Grey Lady?"

"She's usually found in the left corridor near the Ravenclaw Common Room. Be respectful or she will vanish with no explanation and will not help you in your search. She will only help the one who asks. Patience will help you, Harry Potter, find that which has been lost for centuries." Harry gave a nod and Luna left for the Ravenclaw table.

"I can't believe Ginny wants Looney Lovegood to come with us on break," scowled Ron.

"Her name is Luna, Ron, not Looney," said Hermione.

"Everybody knows she's missing a few screws!"

"It's still no reason to talk bad about her."

Harry had been sitting there in a pensive mood. Maybe this really was related to the horcrux hunt. He'd been told to talk to the Grey Lady. He excused himself and went to the Head table to talk to Remus. Remus quickly excused himself and followed Harry to the chamber off the Great Hall. Once privacy wards were put up, Harry related the conversation with Luna to Remus.

"I've suspected Luna has some seer in her for some time. As off as she seems, I would take her very seriously. I think we should pass it on to Sirius," said Remus. He offered to speak to Sirius while Harry rejoined his friends for class. Ron tried to find out what had gotten him excited, but Harry indicated that it wasn't something that could be discussed in open spaces. When they returned from Care of Magical Creatures, Harry led his friends up to the Room of Requirement where he pulled out his mirror and called Sirius.

"Hi Harry, I was expecting your call. Remus told me what Luna said to you. I agree that she was probably referring to the diadem. Albus did tell us to speak with the Grey Lady."

Hermione was confused for a moment, then it struck her what they were referring to, "The last horcrux?"

"Right!"

Ron had suddenly gone pale, "We won't have to fight another basilisk for it will we?"

"I don't think there's another one in the castle, Ron," said Harry.

"No spiders either?"

Both Harry and Hermione laughed, but Harry reassured him that spiders were also out of the picture.

"So how do we find out where it is without everyone in Hogwarts also finding out?" asked Hermione.

"Well, Remus said it is a Hogsmeade weekend. Sounds like a good time to go looking around. If we need more time, there's always next weekend with the Quidditch match," said Sirius.

Ron blurted out, "We can't miss Quidditch!"

"Well, since it's Slytherin and Ravenclaw, I doubt I'll be missed, but Ron would," said Harry, knowing of Ron's Quidditch addiction.

"Let's hope we find it this weekend then. You might want to try to talk to the Grey Lady either tonight or tomorrow night, but don't go alone. Have someone guarding the hall leading into it at least. I'd feel better if Remus went with you," said Hermione."

"I can give Remus the map before we go and he can keep a lookout. You can stay on the other side of the nearest intersection. Will that work?"

"I think so. I'll let Remus know the plan and also speak with Minerva so she knows we're lurking around her castle. Are you going to try talking to her tonight?" asked Sirius

"Yeah, best to get it over with early."

"Let me know after you've spoken with her."

"Will do."

The teens went back to the Gryffindor common room to get some homework done before dinner. Harry took the map with him to dinner and then went to Remus' office after seeing his uncle leave the Great Hall. With most students still in the Great Hall or scattered about the castle, it was probably the best time to do it. They all looked at the map to find the Grey Lady before the teens set off on their mission. A hallway before their stop they were joined by Luna.

"Hello again, Harry Potter. I see you are going to talk to the Grey Lady about the wibblewabbles. I'll help Ron and Hermione keep a lookout for you. You never can tell when lisomice might show up."

"Er, sure, Luna."

Harry walked around the corner and saw a female ghost looking out one of the windows in the passageway. Harry cleared his throat then spoke, "Hi, I'm Harry Potter-Black and I was," then he was cut off.

"I was wondering when you would visit me, Harry Potter. Why has it taken you four months to do so?" she challenged.

Harry blushed and stuttered, "WWWe've been trying to find the other pieces of Riddle's soul first. You know what I'm looking for, don't you?"

"Yes. Tom Riddle charmed me into revealing where I'd hidden my mother's diadem then fouled it with the darkest of evils. He had the audacity to then hide it in this castle, reminding me of my greatest failure," she hung her head in shame.

"You're Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter?"

"I am. You have found my mother's other lost treasures I am told."

"If you mean the Founder's Library, then yes."

"Thank you for your care. So many would want to take and disperse what was found, but you didn't."

"Well, it really wasn't up to me."

"You are the one who controlled access to it, so it is your thoughtfulness to keep what has been lost. It is why you search for my mother's diadem now. You wish to return that which we all cherish to its normal state."

"If you mean I want to destroy all of Riddle's soul pieces, then yes. Nobody should be able to continue to cheat death, especially him."

"He has wronged you terribly, yet you desire no vengeance. You are truly a remarkable young man."

Harry blushed at the praise then tried to redirect the conversation back to the diadem, "Do you know where Riddle hid it?"

"He tricked me into revealing its location to him long before that last night. He came to the castle seeking a position from Headmaster Dumbledore. He knew he would be denied just as Headmaster Dippet had done some years before. Not only did he bring my mother's cursed diadem with him, he also cursed any who followed him seeking that position. As he was leaving, he made a hurried trip to the seventh floor and disappeared behind a strange door. I was unable to follow him. I saw him again shortly after that. I heard him say that no one would find that which had been permanently lost among those that had been forgotten for all time."

"You said he went to the seventh floor, then disappeared behind a strange door?"

"Yes."

"I think he went into the Room of Requirement. The elves call it the Come and Go Room. Did he walk past a blank wall three times?"

"I do not know. I saw him just as the door was closing, then it disappeared."

"Thank you, Lady Ravenclaw! You've been a big help! I'm only sorry that to destroy Tom's soul piece, we have to destroy your mother's diadem."

"Is there no other way?"

"Fiendfyre and basilisk venom are the only things we've found that will kill a horcrux. If it makes you feel any better, Slytherin's locket has also been destroyed as has Hufflepuff's cup. Gryffindor's sword is covered in basilisk venom so we know it's not one."

"Then do what you must to ensure your safety, Harry Potter."

After bowing to the ghost, Harry returned to his friends and then to Remus' office.

OoOoOoOoOo

Saturday morning found the trio along with Sirius and Remus in Professor McGonagall's office. She knew they were searching for something and it had to do with Albus, but exactly what, she wasn't sure. She hadn't bothered asking Albus; she avoided discussing anything with him if she could avoid it. Rather than trying to remember exactly what the Grey Lady had said from memory, they were going to borrow the Headmistress' pensieve so everyone could watch the interaction to try to solve the final mystery. Sirius had gotten one of the magic suppressing bags from Gorpog just in case they found what they were looking for.

After the memory was viewed, Minerva felt faint. Although she didn't know exactly what Harry had been talking about, she knew enough to know that it was something only someone as depraved as Tom Riddle would think about doing. Hermione then began listing the clues she'd gotten from the meeting, but was interrupted by Sirius, "I think we all agree it's in the Room of Requirement. The question is how do we get it to set itself up the same way?"

"It sounded like it's a huge lost and found room to me," said Harry.

Remembering the events of the broomstick bonfire, it dawned on Minerva just what room they were talking about. She then summoned Pappy. When the head elf appeared, she started the inquiry, "Pappy, when the castle elves added more brooms to the bonfire, where did they come from?"

"They be from the Lost and Found Room, Missy Headmistress," the aged elf said.

"Can you show us where it is?"

"Missy Headmistress be losing something? Pappy go search for it."

"I've lost a piece of jewelry, but it has a protection charm on it that might hurt you or the other elves. I'd like to look for it myself. Professor Lupin and the others are here to help me search for it."

"Pappy take Missy Headmistress, Professor Loopy and their friends there but everyone must hold on to Pappy or Pappy has to get more elves." Minerva asked for more elves. The next thing they knew, an elf popped up next to each of them and they found themselves in a room with lost items piled high to the ceiling (wherever it might be) and going on as far as they could see. The wizards and witches all stood there, stunned.

"How do you find something that's been lost if you need to?" asked the Headmistress.

"How long ago did Missy Headmistress lose jewelry?"

She looked at Sirius and nodded, "This would have been about forty years ago?"

As they stood there, the room rearranged itself so the items lost forty or more years ago came to the front.

"What kind of jewelry, Missy Headmistress?"

"It looks like a crown you would wear on your head," she replied.

The elf snapped his fingers and items of similar size glowed. The six spread out a bit to examine each of the highlighted items. Sirius warned them again not to touch anything, but to let him know if they found something. As Harry walked by this stone bust of a wizard wearing a tiara, he stopped suddenly. Since he couldn't see any of the others, he set off red sparks from his wand.

"I think this is it. It's all I can do to keep from reaching out to it."

Sirius and Remus both shouted, "Get away from it!"

Harry had already taken a half-dozen steps back and waited for the rest of them to join him. Remus and Minerva both examined it and agreed that it was the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. Remus ran some curse detection spells over it and it glowed red, similar to how the ring had when Bill had tested it. Sirius pulled out the bag he'd gotten from Gorpog and levitated the diadem into it. Once that was done, they all felt a sense of relief.

"Minerva, if I could borrow your floo?"

"Certainly. Pappy, could you take him back to my office please?"

"Pappy must take Missy Headmistress too. Elves not be taking anyone to Headmistress' office without her being there."

"Then would you please take us all back?"

Another snap and five pops joined them, then they were all back in Minerva's office. Sirius went straight to the floo and was gone.

Minerva quickly conjured more chairs for her visitors. They all sat for a minute to catch their breath while waiting for Sirius to get back with them. Minerva had a tea set brought up. They would all wait for the verdict together. She passed around tea to each as well as the plate of biscuits, but no one, not even Ron, took one.

Minerva finally had the nerve to ask the question she'd been wanting to ask since seeing the memory, "Just how many of these damnable objects are there?"

Remus replied, "If we're right, besides Ravenclaw's diadem, five plus his original soul. That's the one that possessed Quirrell. The diary last year was one; Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and a ring of the Gaunt family. Oh, and Harry."

"HARRY?" she exclaimed.

"Yes ma'am. My scar was one too. The goblins removed it over the Christmas holidays," he said, moving his hair away from his head so she could get a good look at the barely visible scar.

"Oh. My. Word." She was glad she was already sitting down.

Albus joined the discussion, "You've found them all?"

"We think so, Albus," said Remus, "Sirius is taking what we think is the diadem to Gringotts now."

"I never thought you would find them all and you would be forced to live with various incarnations of Voldemort. Well done."

Everyone stared into their cold tea for a while. After what seemed like hours but had only been about thirty minutes, Minerva's floo flared with Sirius asking to come through.

He looked around at the quiet group, then said, "It was a horcrux. It's gone."

OoOoOoOoOo

In the wilds of Albania, a spirit haunting a remote part of a remote mountain 'felt' a shock ripple through. Just before it exploded and disappeared for all eternity, it had, what one could consider a thought, "How did they find them all?" Then it was no more.

OoOoOoOoOo

In the dungeons of Hogwarts, Severus Snape also felt something akin to an electric shock through his left forearm. Not having felt that in over twelve years, he ripped up the sleeve on his robes and stared at the skin. While it was not totally gone, the Dark Mark that had haunted him was now only a light shadow which could only be seen if one looked closely. Closing his eyes and thanking whatever gods there might be, he went to his liquor cabinet and offered a salute to whomever or whatever had finally done away with Voldemort.

OoOoOoOoOo

In Azkaban prison, the Death Eaters imprisoned there felt the ripple through their own Dark Marks. When Bellatrix Lestrange looked at hers and saw it had now diminished to virtually nothing, she let out a scream the likes of had never been heard of in that hellhole and would probably never be heard again. Her reason for continuing to live; her precious Dark Lord, was well and truly gone. As the realization went through her, her own life force failed and Bellatrix Lestrange died shortly after her Lord.


	70. Just Deserts

*****A/N: I changed the rating of this fic from K+ to T as a result of this chapter. There is some mild swearing but there is mention of sexual assault but no details. Please do not read if you feel this may be a trigger for you. I'll try to highlight the area(s) affected with Ws as the beginning of the section. And yes, I know I am referring to Harry as just Potter in the trials. Most of the characters involved wouldn't care about his double name.**

70\. Just Deserts

After savoring his drink, Severus made his way to the Headmistress' office to report this latest event only to find it full of Marauders and Mini-Marauders. He was surprised to be addressed by Sirius Black immediately

"So, Snape, I'm hoping you're coming to report your Dark Mark has disappeared," he said gleefully.

Stunned by the question, he faltered for a moment before regaining his composure, "And what is it to you, Black?"

"Because we just destroyed the last known trace of Voldemort other than the one that possessed Quirrell. If the Dark Mark is gone, that means so is the last soul fragment of Voldemort."

Minerva quickly conjured a chair and Severus sat down, stunned by what he'd just heard. He wanted to know how the mutt knew about it.

"Remus will tell you all about it. I'm going to tell Amelia that Voldemort's truly gone." Sirius grinned, then disappeared in the floo.

Before explaining it to Severus, Remus thought it might be time to send the teens on their way. Reminding them it was a Hogsmeade weekend and there was still a full half-day remaining, they happily left the Headmistress' office bound for Hogsmeade.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sirius floo'd into the Ministry and went directly to the Minister's office. Emily greeted him cheerily and said she'd check to see if the Minister was available. She quickly ushered him into the Minister's office.

"Sirius! What brings you here?"

"He's gone! Voldemort is really gone!"

Amelia was happy she was sitting down at that pronouncement, "How can you be sure?"

"I took what we thought was the last of the horcruxes to Gringotts to be destroyed. When I got back to Hogwarts, Snape showed up in Minerva's office saying his Dark Mark was virtually gone."

As he was finishing his sentence, Rufus Scrimgeour knocked, then walked straight in, "Bellatrix Lestrange is dead." Emily had told him who was in the Minister's office, so he didn't feel bad interrupting,

"Is anyone else affected?" Amelia asked.

"Apparently not. The warden reported an unnatural scream from her cell. By the time a guard got there, she was already dead."

"Well, good riddance to bad rubbish," said Sirius, thinking he needed to let Augusta Longbottom know that at least one of her son's torturers was dead.

Amelia gave instructions to check all of the former Death Eaters to be certain no others had passed on based on this event as well as to check the status of their Dark Marks. She then contacted the ICW and requested the managing director to floo directly to her office to discuss a matter of utmost importance. The managing director had an international portkey to the current Supreme Mugwump for important discussions. Once filled in on the reason for the immediate summons, he went to the portkey departure point headed straight to Australia.

OoOoOoOoOo

Throughout the world, others were also celebrating or decrying the end of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Some of his former followers had dispersed after his defeat by Harry Potter and could be found in wizarding cultures everywhere. While no public celebration was held, there were quiet toasts to the demise of Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Word made it throughout the wizarding world that all of Voldemort's marked followers barely had a visible mark. Even those who had been sent to Muggle prison saw their Dark Marks fade. This proved a problem as their Mark had been a status symbol for those few wizards held there. When other gang leaders realized the Death Eater gang no longer had their status symbol (there were no tattoos, prison or otherwise as detailed as theirs), they became easy marks for other gangs. They would quickly be removed from the general population to safer areas. Additionally, prison wardens were trying to find whatever had been used to remove the tattoos as there was nothing they were aware of that could remove a tattoo so detailed in such a short amount of time. It would be more than a week before anyone in the Muggle world would know what happened.

 **WwWwWwWwWw**

While the final demise of Lord Voldemort was celebrated, life still plodded on for those at Hogwarts. Homework was still being assigned, essays written and classes attended. On the 24th, Sirius arrived at Hogwarts to escort Harry and Hermione to the hearings for Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson. While their memories of the attack would be their primary testimony, they would need to be present in case there were any additional questions. Tiberius Ogden would be the senior official with four others selected by random draw from the Wizengamot who would serve as hearing members. Daniel Greengrass would have been the likely candidate for the senior official but was disqualified as he practiced in the same law firm as Patrick Parkinson had. As the accused were not of age, Veritaserum could only be used with the consent of their guardians, but a truth compulsion charm could be. Tonks and Shacklebolt would testify on their investigation, including the _Priori Incantatum_ done on the accused's' wands.

Harry had on one of his formal robes with the Potter and Black crests. Hermione had on formal robes as well. They were going to show the dignity they felt the circumstances warranted. Gerald Howe met them at the Ministry; he would not allow them to testify without his presence and protection. To keep things above board, each teen would be tried separately. While it meant three hearings for the prosecution, it ensured the integrity of the justice system. Since these trials were of underage wizards and a witch, the press was not allowed in. Witnesses would remain in the antechamber until needed. An Auror was present to ensure no discussion about the trials was held.

Gregory Goyle was the first to be tried. He had that same 'dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks' look Harry had grown used to associating with him. His stay in a Ministry holding cell hadn't changed him one bit. Kingsley was the first to testify, then Tonks. Both memories were then played. After that was done, the defense was asked if they wanted to question either Harry or Hermione. They had seen the memories previously and had no other questions. The defense solicitor, Mr. Wiltshire, had already retrieved and reviewed Goyle's memory and it was even more damning than the victims'. Scrimgeour then placed the truth charm on Goyle to begin questioning.

"Please state your name."

"Gregory Goyle."

"Were you a member of the group who attacked Harry Potter-Black and Hermione Granger on March third?"

"Yes."

"Who else participated?"

"Marcus Flint organized it. Aloyicius Yaxley and Mercer Mcnair were the other muscle. Vincent Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson and me were the lookouts and made sure they were alone when we stopped them."

"What was the reason for the attack?"

"Potter and that Mudblood were taking over the school. With Sirius Black on the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts Board of Governors, all of the rules were changing against us. If it hadn't been for Black, the trials wouldn't have been held and our fathers would still be free. Potter's been asking for it since he got to Hogwarts and Flint was finally going to give him what he deserved."

"Besides Mr. Potter-Black and Miss Granger, was anyone else hurt?"

"Malfoy might have been. I let Flint know when Malfoy was in our dorm room alone so he could be tied up to keep him from bothering us."

"Why would you do that?"

"Malfoy had sold out to Black. We were afraid if he knew what we were going to do, he'd tell Snape and we'd get ratted out. He deserved it anyway for his father turning on us."

"Thank you, Mr. Goyle. Mr. Wiltshire?"

With Lord Parkinson in Azkaban and Lord Cornfoot the former counsel for Lucius Malfoy, the families had gone to Mr. Wiltshire for representation. They did not feel that Daniel Greengrass could be impartial. Since his conversation with Sirius and the Grangers, he realized his position was weak and he really had no defense to put up. Still, he would make an attempt.

"Mr. Goyle, were you forced into these actions?"

"Well, Flint and Mcnair threatened to hurt my little sister if I didn't go along."

"Did you feel they were sincere in their threats?"

"Oh, yeah! I'd seen what they were doing to some of the others besides Malfoy who didn't want to join their little Death Eater gang and I didn't want to find myself in that position."

"And what exactly had they been doing?"

"Well, some of the guys had hexes sent to them in very uncomfortable places. Some of the girls were taken out for a bit of fun."

Rufus interrupted, "Are you saying these girls were sexually assaulted?" This was something new to him – something he should have asked about during the initial questioning.

"I don't know exactly what they did to them, but they never said a bad word about them afterwards."

Rufus made note to ask the other two the same question to see what they knew about the older pair's extracurricular activities. With no further questions to ask, the hearing was adjourned to allow the panel to deliberate. When it reconvened, Harry and Hermione were brought in to hear the verdict.

Lord Ogden spoke for the panel, "Gregory Goyle, this panel has found you guilty of all charges. We now convene to discuss an appropriate sentence. Heir Potter-Black and Miss Granger will be allowed to make statements as to their desires of what that may be. Heir Potter-Black, you may go first."

Harry stood up and looked Goyle in the eye, "Goyle, from the first day at Hogwarts, you've been wanting to hurt me in some way. I thought you were just Malfoy's hired muscle, but this shows you would hire out to just about anybody. I hope you got some satisfaction in finally getting to The Boy Who Lived. As far as punishment goes, I don't think you should ever step foot in Hogwarts again. You are a bully just like my cousin. My cousin is now in a Muggle Reformatory. I think if it's good enough for him, it should be good enough for you too." Harry sat down and turned to Hermione. She got up for her address.

"Bullies are a fact of life in both the magical and Muggle world. I've been the victim of quite a few, but nothing like I experienced from you and your 'friends'. I never want to go through that again. You don't deserve to be a wizard. I understand that if you're expelled from Hogwarts, you will have your wand snapped and your magic bound. I think that's a fitting sentence – that you live your life as a Muggle whom you so despise. As for sending you to a Reformatory, I'm not exactly sure what will be gained by doing that, but since the wizarding world doesn't, to my knowledge, have anything similar, then it is probably appropriate."

"Thank you, Heir Potter-Black and Miss Granger. Lord Black, did you wish to contribute to this discussion?"

"Just a brief word, Lord Ogden. While Mr. Goyle's participation in the attack was minor in the grand scheme of things, his actions could have led to the death of my son and the end to the Potter and, potentially, the Black family lines. Line theft is a serious crime in our world and I'd like that to be considered when you pronounce your sentence."

Once again, the hearing room was cleared while the panel deliberated. Once everyone returned to the hearing room, Lord Ogden began reading the panel's sentence, "Gregory Goyle, having been found guilty of assault, kidnapping and attempted line theft, this panel sentences you to the following: Your wand will be snapped and your magic bound. As a result of that, you will need to learn how to function in the Muggle world. This panel requests the Minister for Magic to consult with the Muggle Prime Minister for an appropriate location in their world for you to learn how to function and, eventually, live in their world until you reach the age of majority in the Muggle world of eighteen."

The next two trials went similarly. Crabbe didn't have enough sense to keep his mouth shut and made threats against Harry and Hermione as well as Hermione's parents. The panel took those threats seriously and ordered he be sent to a reformatory rather than a chance at rehabilitation. Parkinson wisely kept her mouth shut and accepted the sentence she was given. She had been remorseful so they decided just binding her magic and snapping her wand would be sufficient. She had given up hope for the life she had expected to lead when Lucius Malfoy was convicted and her betrothal contract with Draco was voided. At the end of the hearings, Sirius stated that he would withhold his demands for reparations until the conclusion of the other three trials.

OoOoOoOoOo

March continued on in its busy vein on Saturday with the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. This would be the first test of the new brooms. While Slytherin was used to flying on their Nimbus 2001s, Ravenclaw had been using a mixture of different brooms with nothing close to either the Nimbus 2001 or Firebolt so they were anxious to test them out. Cho Chang was the one Ravenclaw was most concerned about. In practice, she'd been almost afraid of the broom. Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw captain, had worked with her in extra practices to get her to use the full capabilities of the broom; he knew Draco Malfoy would be well-versed by now. Their Seeker needed to be the one most comfortable on the new broom.

Lee Jordan was at his usual spot commentating. Even though Gryffindor wasn't playing, he still favored Ravenclaw (or any team other than Slytherin). Charity Burbage now had the responsibility of monitoring the young man and had already laid down the law to him – no favoritism or she'd find a new commentator. It was hard, but other than one or two slips (when one of the Slytherin beaters aimed a bludger right at Chang when he was mere feet away from her), he was able to hold his comments until after the match. While Ravenclaw put up a good fight, Draco caught the snitch leading Slytherin to a 220 – 90 win. Most of Ravenclaw's points had come from penalty shots.

Minerva had taken the entire Slytherin Quidditch team to task for their dirty play and had threatened to force them to forfeit their final game to Hufflepuff. The only reason she relented was due to the fact they were already so far behind in points; it was one of the few ways they could accumulate them in a hurry. There were two more games in the season; Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff on April 23rd and Gryffindor Vs. Ravenclaw on May 21st. As it stood now, Gryffindor was in first place followed by Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

OoOoOoOoOo

Tuesday was another Board of Governors meeting. Minerva had asked Narcissa to be there for the first part to give them an overview of the new Wizarding Customs and Culture class as well as the Latin class. The Board had been quite satisfied in the direction the Culture class was going, but were a bit disappointed that they would have to use a Muggle book for Latin. Minerva and Sirius had worked with Clinkshaft so that Flourish and Blotts would be able to purchase the books from the Muggle publisher. There was a company run by a Muggleborn who would pick the books up in a lorry, then have an elf shrink and deliver them to the bookstore. With those details explained, Narcissa was excused. Charity gave an update on the Muggle Culture class. She'd also looked at the publisher's catalog and found books suitable for her classes. She'd selected a World History book that covered events through the 1970s. It would correlate nicely with the texts Professor Newell was using for History of Magic. There was also a text on Muggle technology that expanded on the information provided in the Muggle history text.

Another review of the budget was held and the Board was satisfied that it was being managed properly. Additionally, they were quite pleased with the transparency of the process. It was refreshing after years of Dumbledore's secrecy.

The next item was the discussion of the additional classes and who would be teaching them. They'd already discussed the two Culture classes and St. Mungo's had offered a Master Healer for the basic healing classes. Sirius had spoken with Ragnok and the Goblins would provide a wizard specializing in warding for that course (he'd put in a good word for Bill Weasley). Initially, funds would come from the basilisk funds, but after five years, Hogwarts would assume responsibility. Remus would convert the DADA course to the Applied Magic course, covering both offensive and defensive magic.

After some discussion among the staff, the creatures portion of DADA would be moved to the Care of Magical Creatures course for the third year and would be mandatory for all third year students. The course would be renamed 'Magical Creatures'. Hagrid would continue to work with the course, but would only teach specific creatures in third year, but would continue with the fourth years and above. They had spoken with part-time professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank and she would share the teaching responsibilities with Hagrid. Hagrid would have more responsibilities with the care of the creatures used for demonstration (not that they would be bringing many dark creatures to the course). Taking up the additional time in the third year would be the care of the most common magical creatures such as kneazles, bowtruckles, doxies, and the like. Remus would continue to teach werewolves in his class in third year since he had the most knowledge.

Satisfied that the new courses were sufficiently fleshed out and appropriate instructors obtained, they moved on to other business. They briefly discussed the results of the hearings of the underage wizards who had assaulted Harry and Hermione (the results had been sent to Griselda at the Wizarding Examination Authority as they affected their eligibility for a magical education). They also inquired about any additional disciplinary issues. While there had been minor transgressions as is usual in a school of that size, there had been no more outright assaults or any retaliation against those who may have supported the assailants.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry and Hermione once again found themselves at the Ministry. This time they were there for the three of-age wizards who'd attacked them. They were both surprised to see Mrs. Weasley there, but didn't think anything of it. Having been to several other Wizengamot meetings, Harry wasn't overawed by the initial part of the proceedings but Hermione found it fascinating. Remus was sitting next to Harry and Gerald Howe sat on the other side of Hermione and answered some of her questions, but even he had to put a stop to them and said they could discuss it after the session was over. Ludo Bagman updated them on the Quidditch World Cup and Amos Diggory covered all of the other items of importance that Ludo had overlooked.

There were several other minor pieces of legislation that needed to be discussed. Sirius was waiting until the June session to introduce his werewolf legislation. He wanted Remus to have a full year teaching at Hogwarts so he could, unfortunately, be the 'poster boy' for it. He and Harry needed to complete their discussions with Gerald and the Goblins about the Wolfsbane fund. There were two more items on the agenda before the trials could begin. The first was Lord Ogden stating that nominations for Chief Witch/Warlock would be accepted at the April meeting and voted on in May. The final item just indicated the Minister for Magic had several administrative announcements.

Amelia stood and addressed the assembly, "Wizards and Witches of the Wizengamot, while it has been only a few weeks since I was elected your Minister, I felt it imperative that several critical positions in the Ministry be filled. Upon my election as Acting Minister, I selected Rufus Scrimgeour as the Acting Director for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Today I make that appointment permanent."

A round of applause went through the chamber as the seasoned Auror stood briefly, then took his seat. He had quite a few other things on his mind at the moment than posing for the photographers. Amelia had spoken with him the day before about his permanent appointment.

"Another temporary appointment I wish to make permanent is that of Director of the Department for International Magical Cooperation. Amos Diggory has already shown he is well suited for the position and I am happy to make his appointment permanent." There was another round of applause.

"The following two appointments come with some reorganization within the Ministry. The first is the new Muggle Liaison Office. It is now elevated to a Department and will include all related offices such as the Muggle Relations Office and the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. The Department Head will be my primary contact with the Muggle Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is appointing a Special Assistant for Magical Relations within his office who is a Muggleborn witch whom the Director will work with closely. I expect this office to grow as our relationship grows. I have appointed Arthur Weasley to this position."

Arthur stood, with Molly by his side. Harry and Hermione clapped enthusiastically for the head of the red-haired clan. Mr. Weasley was interested in all things Muggle.

"The next office that will be reorganized is the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It will now be known as the Department for Magical Beings. All Ministry activities associated with other magical beings such as the Goblin Liaison Office will now fall into that Department. In the future, there will be formal liaison offices for Werewolves, Centaurs and Elves. If there is need for others, we will address it when it arises. The new Head of this Department is Dirk Cresswell."

Dirk had been surprised when he had been tapped for that position. His previous work with the Goblins had been ignored by Fudge, but he was quite knowledgeable of them. When Amelia had discussed the idea of other magical being offices, he'd been enthusiastic as he already had ideas of who would serve those offices well.

"Finally, the most important of my appointments is that of the Senior Undersecretary. As I searched for the right person, I wanted someone of unimpeachable integrity. A person who is calm under stress and could offer wise counsel when needed. I found that person in Kingsley Shacklebolt."

She gestured to where Kingsley was sitting and had him join her on the podium, taking his place next to her. She motioned for him to make a statement.

"Thank you, Minister Bones, for your trust in me. I pledge to conduct the business of the Senior Undersecretary with honor and fairness. We have all seen what can happen when those in senior offices become corrupt. Since graduating from Hogwarts, I have served in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I have seen the best and worst of people. I promise to work hard to earn your trust and hope the people of Magical Britain will feel comfortable coming to me with any issue they may have."

With that, Lord Ogden adjourned the meeting for thirty minutes to allow the room to be reconfigured into the courtroom.

 **WwWwWwWwWwWwWw**

While waiting for the trials to begin, Harry and Hermione quickly moved over to the Weasleys to congratulate them. Mr. Weasley confirmed that they had not told their children about the new position as he wasn't quite sure who he would be able to trust besides Percy to keep it a secret until the Minister made the formal announcement. He had floo-called Minerva the night before so that she would expect them around lunchtime to speak with their offspring. Since she was attending the trials, she'd passed along the information to Professor Burbage. Harry excused himself so he could refresh himself before the start of the trials; no telling how long those could take.

Hermione had only seen the courtroom configuration once; at Pettigrew's trial. It was incredibly austere in comparison to the normal Wizengamot one. Their little group moved down so they would be able to easily access the witness seat if their testimony was needed. Gerald told them that Mcnair and Yaxley would be tried before Flint, leaving the worst for last. Since Flint had cast the _Crucio_ , Scrimgeour wanted to build up the evidence against him with the other two's testimony.

Yaxley was the first one brought in. He was a short, thin wizard with a shock of shaggy brown hair. He looked a bit timid, indicating that he might have been forced into the action. Rufus read out the charges including the assault on Malfoy as well as that on Harry and Hermione. Rufus had also added the attempted line theft charge, resulting in loud grumblings throughout the room. After reading the charges, he asked how the defendant plead.

"Guilty."

'Apparently this will go a bit faster then,' thought Gerald,' Evidently Mr. Wiltshire knew what he was getting into now and had advised his client accordingly.'

"Having plead guilty, we will now administer the Veritaserum for the remainder of your testimony." He nodded to the Auror standing by and the three drops were administered to Yaxley. After waiting the required minute, he began his questioning.

"State your name."

"Aloyicius Verlander Yaxley."

"Were you involved in the attack on Harry Potter-Black, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy?"

"Just Potter and Granger."

"What was the purpose of the attack?"

"Flint was mad that our fathers had been sent to Muggle prison and that it was all Potter and his father's doing. He wanted to get back at Black by hurting Potter to let Black know he would not take it lightly."

"Who else was involved?"

"Mercer Mcnair, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson."

"What were their roles?"

"Mcnair was the other wand with the most experience. He knew a lot more spells than the third years. They were used to spy on Potter and the Mudblood. We also needed the extra people to be sure they wouldn't escape once we had them trapped."

"Did you use any Unforgivable Curses?"

"No."

"Are you aware of any being cast?"

"Yes." This brought the expected gasp from the room.

"Which Unforgivables were cast?"

"Just the _Cruciatus Curse_."

"And who cast it?"

"Flint."

"Who was it cast on?"

"Both Potter and Granger."

Another round of mutterings, only louder this time, went around the room. Harry and Hermione both remembered the feeling of the pain curse and grimaced.

"Were any dark curses used?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We thought we didn't need to. They are only third years. Potter's mediocre at best," Sirius looked at his son with a determination that that would be changing, "and Granger knows more than she can do."

"I have no more questions. Mr. Wiltshire?"

"I have no questions."

Yaxley was escorted out then the gallery cleared. Emily escorted them to the side room. Harry was beginning to think of this like just another of his frequent rooms. Both Professor McGonagall and Remus joined them. With Sirius in the Wizengamot chambers, he had delegated the paternal role to Uncle Remus as he was there in case his testimony was needed. Professor McGonagall was still steaming about the attack, especially the curses used.

"At least he had the sense to plead guilty, not that it will do him much good," she said.

Hermione asked, "What is a normal sentence for crimes such as this, Mr. Howe?"

"The fact that he wasn't the one to cast the Unforgivables will go in his favor, but the attempted line theft won't. I expect him to get a good long sentence in Azkaban. With the way the Wizengamot has been voting, I wouldn't be surprised at anything they may come up with."

"He will never set foot in Hogwarts again!" exclaimed Minerva.

Hermione also had a very probing question, "If all of these people are either in Azkaban or their wands snapped, what happens to those that have seats on the Wizengamot?"

Gerald was thoughtful for a minute, "It's been a while since we've had this come up; the end of the last war. It depends on how the house was established. Most are patriarchal while there are a few that are matriarchal. In Miss Parkinson's case, her house is a patriarchal line and she has no siblings. Her father has a brother so he will become the Regent until his son, who is currently nine, comes of age and can assume the Head of House and Lord. Each case is a bit different."

"And that, Miss Granger, why we need a course on Wizarding Culture," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry added, "If Sirius hadn't named me his Heir before he went to Azkaban, Draco was in line to assume the Head of House Black."

Emily came to collect them and return to the courtroom.

Once they were settled, Lord Ogden read the sentence, "Aloyicius Yaxley, you have plead guilty to all charges. This Court sentences you to twenty years in the medium security wing of Azkaban prison. This case is adjourned," and banged his gavel.

Once he was taken away, Mcnair was brought in. He also plead guilty. The only difference being the assault on Draco Malfoy, including placing the ward on Draco's dorm room. There was a difference in reasons though; Flint had threatened to rape his eleven year old sister if he didn't go along. When asked if this was a common occurrence, he said it was and he knew of several times where it had actually happened. Rather than asking for names, Rufus told the Court that they had already gotten a list of names and they had been seen by both a Healer and a Mind Healer specializing in sexual assault. Rufus knew if he told them that the list included both girls and boys, there would be calls for the Kiss for Flint. That might still happen. When all was over, Mcnair was sentenced to thirty years in Azkaban.

The lead-up to Marcus Flint's trial had gone better than Rufus had hoped. Most of the members of the Wizengamot were out for blood. The conviction for the use of an Unforgivable carried a mandatory life sentence in Azkaban. With Flint's demeanor, he might actually get the Kiss. When he entered the courtroom, he glared directly at Harry with a look of pure hatred. The Aurors ensured he was well chained up although there might be a need to shield him from those present in the courtroom. Flint wasn't going to go down easy; no pleading guilty for him. The Gryffindor Golden Boy and his pet Mudblood deserved everything they got and more.

Rufus' first witness was Kingsley. He told about the call from the Headmistress and their arrival on the scene. He then described what he saw and what he and Tonks had discovered in their investigation. Remus was the next witness. He explained how Dobby had come and taken him directly to the scene and was in the process of evaluating the severity of the injuries to both Harry and Hermione when the Headmistress, Mediwitch and Aurors arrived. Mr. Wiltshire had few questions of the two witnesses. Rufus then played Hermione's memory first and asked if Mr. Wiltshire had any questions for her. Mr. Wiltshire decided to ask Hermione a couple of questions. He didn't realize the mistake he was making.

"Miss Granger, how do you know Mr. Flint?"

"I don't. I've seen him with the other Slytherins and I know he's on the Quidditch team. I didn't even know his name until after the attack."

Well, this was different. Flint had told him he had an intimate relationship with the girl in order to get back at Potter-Black.

"Have you ever been on alone with Mr. Flint?"

"Never!"

"Have you ever had intimate relations with Mr. Flint?"

"Absolutely not! I'd never let that cretin anywhere near me!"

Realizing that Flint had lied to him as well, he quickly sat down.

Harry's memories were played next including the part where Fawkes came and flashed him to the Hospital Wing. Each time the _Cruciatus Curse_ was cast, there was a collective wince throughout the courtroom. Finally, it was time to put the accused on the stand. After having the Veritaserum administered, he began his questioning.

"State your name," said Rufus.

"Marcus Harold Flint."

"On March 3, 1994, did you attack Harry James Potter-Black and Hermione Granger?"

"Yes."

"What was your reason for the attack?"

"Potter's mutt of a father started all the trials ending in my father being stripped of his magic and sent to a Mudblood prison. I couldn't get to him, but I could get to Potter and that Mudblood bitch he kept with him. He needed to be taught how to respect his betters as well as the proper way an Heir to two Ancient and Most Noble Houses should act. They've made a mockery of the House of Black."

"What was your plan?"

"Everybody knew they had an Ancient Runes study group on Thursday nights. Even a couple of Slytherins dishonored themselves by attending. It was always over by eight. About half seven, I had Goyle make sure Malfoy was in his room so Mcnair and I went to make sure he couldn't stop us. I petrified and silenced him so he couldn't get involved then had Mcnair ward the door so nobody could get in to find him."

"Why didn't you ward the door?"

"Mcnair's better at wards than me."

"Is this the first time you've assaulted Mr. Malfoy?"

"No. I told him if he didn't do what I told him to do, I'd kick him off the Quidditch team and break his broom over his head. I popped him in the nose to show him I meant business."

"Have you made threats to others in Slytherin?"

"Yes."

"Any other assaults?"

"I wouldn't call it assault. I just took what I thought I deserved. Shagged me a couple of firsties. Let them know just who was in charge of Slytherin. Definitely wasn't Malfoy like he wanted everyone to believe."

Looks of horror were going around the room. Daniel Greengrass looked stoic. He'd already known that one of Flint's victims was his younger daughter, Astoria. Daphne had found her crying in her dorm room and soon got some of the details. Astoria had firmly refused to tell them the identity of the attacker until after he had been arrested for the assault on Harry and Hermione.

"Why did you have so many other people helping you?"

"I wanted to make sure they couldn't get away too easy. Wouldn't have if it weren't for that stupid house elf."

"Did you cast any Unforgivable Curses?"

"Yes."

"Which ones?"

" _Crucio'd_ them both. Should have done it for longer if I'd known we were going to get caught so fast."

"What were your original plans before you were interrupted?"

"Once I'd let Potter know who was in charge and had him out of the picture, I was going to have me a bit of fun with the Mudblood. The Prefects bathroom was nearby and we wouldn't be disturbed. Then we'd leave them there for Filch to find."

"Define 'bit of fun.'"

"I'd make sure she'd been shagged well and good. No wizard of any breeding would have anything to do with her after that."

Lord Ogden stopped the proceedings long enough to add the charges of rape and attempted rape to the growing list. When asked if he had any further questions, Mr. Wiltshire declined. The court was adjourned for the final time that day.

Deliberations were furious in the Wizengamot. There were calls for the Dementor's Kiss, but cooler minds prevailed stating that if they had not ordered the Kiss for his father and the crimes he had committed, it didn't seem right to do so for the son. Once they reconvened, the same sentence handed to Flint's father was handed to the son; strip his magic, snap his wand and send him to Muggle prison for the rest of his life. The Aurors placed a silencing charm on him as they dragged him out; no one needed to hear the filth he was spewing.

At that point, Sirius asked to be recognized, "Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot, you have heard the testimony of these three criminals and what they did to my son and my protectee. I demand reparations! I shudder to think of the result that could have happened if not for my son's quick thinking. The actions of the six could have resulted in my son's and his friend's death, ending the Potter line forever. I humbly request the Wizengamot order the families of the six convicted wizards and witch to pay fifty percent of their net worth to be split evenly between my son, Harry Potter-Black, and Miss Hermione Granger and that I be granted proxy voting rights for their seats until the next Heirs come of age. I also demand the same from the Houses of Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson."

It didn't take long for the Wizengamot to discuss and grant Sirius' wish. While not the great sum previously received from the families, it would be considerable. Turning over proxy rights to Sirius had been a stroke of genius crafted by Sirius, Augusta Longbottom and Daniel Greengrass. His demands were quickly granted.


	71. Easter Holiday

**A/N: We're almost at the end of the story (sniff, sniff). Unfortunately, I'm behind in writing. I've only got one more chapter written and I haven't proofed it yet. So, the last couple of chapters will be later than usual, but you'll be getting them before the end of October, if not sooner. Dratted migraine monster!**

71\. Easter Holiday

With one week left before the Easter Holiday, there would have been more excitement if it weren't for the end of term exams they had to sit. For the fifth and seventh years, this would be the last major testing before they sit their OWLs/NEWTs. Hermione had been in a tizzy for weeks and had set an aggressive revision schedule. While Ron basically ignored it, Harry was able to get her to see that it would be better to leave some free time in there, not only for Harry's Quidditch practice, but for Hermione's sanity. Remus had sent a note to Tonks who began sending Hermione letters to calm her down as well. She'd sat those same exams herself and knew they were not as bad as Hermione was making them out to be. Tonks had also contacted Hermione's parents who'd sent along a care package of Hermione's favorite study snacks (all sugar-free, of course).

The Potions exam was one of the strangest exams for Harry. With the departure of the three attackers, the remaining Slytherins were, if not friendly in the case of Zabini and Davis, noncommittal with their relationship with the Gryffindors. They kept their attention on their potions and the Gryffindors did likewise. Snape found no need to stalk around the room keeping an eye out for sabotaged potions. Finnegan still managed to brew some sort of purple sludge, but even Thomas had something resembling the right mixture. Longbottom had settled down and, while he would never be a master, his work was good enough to ensure he would get sufficient scores to qualify for a Herbology apprenticeship. If he had to rank this class, he'd be hard-pressed to differentiate between Granger, Malfoy and Potter-Black. Greengrass, Zabini and Davis were right behind. From once the class he most dreaded to teach, this one was becoming his favorite outside of his NEWT classes.

Ancient Runes had been as expected, they'd had to translate certain runes and explain their meanings and uses. She'd then given them several situations and asked them to provide solutions based on their, albeit limited, runic knowledge. Transfiguration and Charms had been similar to the Fall term exam. Professor Flitwick had included Cheering Charms in his exam so everyone left the classroom in a good mood. Professor Vance was continuing their transfiguration of inanimate to animate objects. This time she set transfiguring a plate into a puffskein. It had turned into an amusing class when the puffskeins started humming.

Remus gave them an unusual test. Part of it was a "What am I" set of questions. Remus would give parts of descriptions of creatures and the students had to answer what they were. Some of the descriptions were a bit obscure, but if they had read the text and listened in class, they would have no trouble with the answers.

The rest of their exams had been pretty much the same as first term. Herbology and Astronomy were standard tests, although in Herbology, Professor Sprout set out a series of plants that they had to identify and give a description of its care and uses. Apparently someone had helped Hagrid with the Care of Magical Creatures exam. Part of it was to take the puffskeins they'd transfigured and then care for them for an hour. The goal was to see whose animal would hum the loudest. Surprisingly enough, Lavender Brown won the contest. With all that now behind them, it was a happy group setting off on the Hogwarts Express on Saturday.

Sirius brought the Grangers with him to pick up the teens. They would drive over to Potter Hall and leave their car here. The five of them would have dinner with Dobby then floo to Potter Manor for the night. The Weasleys, Luna, Neville and Tonks would join them on Sunday to take the portkey to the villa. There was a two hour difference between London and the villa. The portkey would only take a total of six at a time and either Harry or Sirius had to be one of the six. It would be Tuesday before Remus could join them as he had to have all of his grades turned in before he could leave the castle. Sirius would return to Potter Manor for him.

When Harry walked into Potter Hall, he found himself with an arm full of house elf. Dobby had literally thrown himself at Harry.

"Harry be well? Nasty evil kidsies didn't hurt you or your Grangey?"

"I'm fine, Dobby, thanks to you. Madam Pomfrey fixed us right up. If I didn't thank you then, let me do it now. Thank you for helping us."

"Harry be thanking Dobby! Harry is a great wizard!" then, not seeing the rest of the group, asked "Where is Harry's Grangey and Grangey's parents?"

"They'll be along shortly. They had a couple of things they needed to do first." Trying to explain Muggle transportation to the elf was beyond his capabilities. While they were waiting, Harry brought out his parents' picture so he could tell them about the exams. Lily was very pleased at how Snape was behaving towards her son. She had talked to him several times after the breakthrough with the Wolfsbane potion. James was reserving comment until he knew what Harry's grades were. It wasn't long before the Grangers were knocking on the door.

After a nice dinner, the group floo'd over to Potter Manor. Cassie was very happy to see them again. She made very sure that Harry and Hermione were both fully recovered before she would let them go to their bedrooms. The Grangers had brought their luggage in at Potter Hall and Dobby had taken it over to their rooms in Potter Manor while they were eating. They'd also brought Hermione a small bag with items she wouldn't normally have in her school trunk such as a swimsuit and shorts. Pixie would ferry everyone's luggage over in the morning. Before going to bed, Harry went down to the wardstone to allow Luna and Neville access the next morning. Neville would floo in from Longbottom Manor and Luna would come with the Weasleys. While invited, August Longbottom had declined.

Breakfast was the calm before the storm. With just the Grangers, Harry and Sirius there, the adults were focused on their newspapers while Harry was trying to wake up and Hermione had a book. Dobby had gone to the Granger's house and picked up their copy of the London Telegraph from their front yard. They'd just barely finished eating and had adjourned to the sitting room when Tonks stumbled out of the floo scattering ash around. Cassie was there in a flash to clean it up.

"Ooops, sorry about that! Forgot to close my eyes and I got distracted. Wotcher, Harry! How's everyone this morning?"

"Hi Tonks! How're things at the Ministry?" he asked.

"Hopping. Amelia has everyone on their toes now and with Kingsley as the Undersecretary, nobody is getting a break. I love it!"

There followed a discussion about current events in wizarding politics to give the Grangers an idea of what had been happening since they had last been here. Sirius had visited the Grangers after both trials to let them know the results. They seemed to be satisfied and were surprised at the amount of reparations. Sirius would request an account manager be assigned for her from Ragnok. The fact that Flint was now in the Royal prison system did concern them a bit, but Sirius assured them he would never see freedom again. Arthur Weasley had talked with the Prime Minister's liaison and was assured that would never happen. It was also in the folder of information the Prime Minister would pass along to his successor.

Promptly at ten, the floo flared again and Neville asked permission to come through. Harry had asked him to come a bit earlier so he could have a look at the Potter greenhouses. The elves had done their best to keep them in good shape and continued to sell what potions ingredients they could harvest to Slug & Jiggers in Diagon Alley as had been happening for centuries. Neville was quite impressed when they went into the first greenhouse (there were five). Tizzy had taken them out and told them what each greenhouse was for. Several of them had stasis charms since they required human touch as the plants could be deadly to elves. There were several plants that Neville couldn't identify. He said more than a few times that Professor Sprout should take a look at them. It's possible she might want cuttings for the Hogwarts greenhouses.

When they got back inside, it was time for the Weasleys to arrive. Harry tried to bet Neville that Ron would be the last one through, but he knew not to take a sucker bet. Ginny and Luna were the first through and then the twins. True to form, Ron had just finished breakfast and was trying to gather up some loose ends. Luna was introduced to the rest of the group. Sirius thanked her for her help in finding the diadem.

"I didn't help. I just told Harry how to get the wibblewabbles to stop following him."

Tonks and the Grangers looked at her like she was a bit, well, loony, but Harry shook his head so they wouldn't ask any questions. Both Harry and Remus had told Sirius that Luna was a bit eccentric, but not dangerous. After about a twenty minute wait, Ron came tumbling out of the fireplace.

Harry, Sirius and the Grangers would take the first portkey over. Sirius was a bit apprehensive of leaving the twins there by themselves without adult supervision even for a few minutes, so he had moved Tonks to the last group. Harry would stay at the villa while Sirius went back for the rest. The next group through were the twins, Ginny and Luna with Ron, Neville and Tonks bringing up the last of the group. As soon as the first group had arrived, Pixie took their luggage to their assigned rooms. They'd told the elf the sleeping assignments and allowed her to decide who got which bedrooms. There was no such thing as a bad bedroom in Potter Villa. Name plates had been placed on the doors for easy reference (with elf sticking charms so the twins couldn't move them around).

Harry took them all around for a brief orientation before they went out on the patio for a quick lunch. It was sandwiches and salads, but they were all good. Once done, they adjourned to the sitting room to determine just what they were going to do each day. Harry wanted to wait until Remus got there to visit Rome and that was scheduled for Wednesday. There was a floo in the village that would take them to the magical section, the Via Magia. The travel agency in Diagon Alley had booked them a tour of the major sites there as well as some of the not-so-well-known magical historical sites. They would have time to spend in the Via Magia itself. For the rest of the day, they would spend time on the beach or resting. There was a small library there, but it was geared more towards recreational reading than heavy study. Tonks was already working with Hermione and convinced her to go out to the beach with the rest of them.

Even with sunscreen and cooling charms, the group learned quickly that they were not accustomed to the warm climate of Sicily. The Grangers brought a strong sunscreen with them, but they had also decided to take it in small doses at first. Michelle brought some embroidery with her for quiet periods and adjourned to the small library area. Luna and the twins were building some strange type of sand castle. Sirius smirked, then quietly drew his wand and a sand castle in the shape of Hogwarts rose out of the sand.

"Showoff!" shouted Harry. He then picked up a handful of sand and aimed it his way. Thus began the first of several Great Sand Battles of the week.

Tired and dirty, the group returned to the villa to shower and change. Rizzo knew that a heavy dinner wouldn't do for the travel- and sun-weary group, so he'd prepared a dish of angel hair pasta with some of the local seafood. Fresh vegetables had accompanied it. Harry and Sirius told him earlier they would take their dessert in the village nearby. There was a pub similar to the Three Broomsticks called The Pickled Toad within a comfortable walk.

Naturally, the large group drew the attention of the other patrons, but many were visitors as well. Harry and Sirius had managed to visit without any fanfare at Christmas, but not this time. As soon as the proprietor learned the guests of the large villa were visiting, he came out to welcome the group. He knew Harry was the owner, but was discrete enough to not mention his name in the busy pub. The teens and Tonks all had butterbeer while the rest of the adults tried a bottle of one of the local wines. Peering at the dessert menu, the noise in the pub ratcheted up considerably. Harry learned that the treacle tart included locally grown almonds so he had to try that. The others went for some of the chocolate confections with local chocolate. Hermione was going to decline with her parents watching, but when they ordered something, she did as well. Well-sugared up, they went back to the villa and rapidly fell asleep.

The adults, Hermione, Neville and Harry all were up at a reasonable time. Dobby popped over with the mail and a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Remus had sent a note that he should be done by noon Hogwarts time Tuesday, but would need another hour to get his personal effects in order so Sirius said he'd meet the werewolf at Potter Manor at one Hogwarts time. When the twins joined them, they started planning for the day. The others could go along or get up earlier! There was talk of going into Palermo to look around.

They had been talking about it for a while when Luna walked in and said, "There's an infestation of wrackspurts in this room. The youngest shall determine our going while the oldest shall determine our return."

They all looked at each other trying to figure out who the youngest was. It turned out Ginny was the youngest in the group, so Hermione went to wake her while Harry got the dubious chore of waking Ron. Hermione was lucky because Ginny was just leaving her room when she arrived. When Ron didn't respond to his initial shakes, he did something he'd wanted to do for a long time; he cast an _Aguamenti_ charm and cold water poured out over Ron.

"Blimey mate! What was that for?"

"We're trying to figure out the day's plans and we need you. Plus, you'll miss breakfast if you don't hurry."

Spurred by the thought of missing breakfast, Ron dried off then dressed quickly and joined the rest of the group. Ginny was all for as much beach time as she could get. With her fair skin, being able to return to Hogwarts with a nice tan would make her dorm mates jealous. After some discussion, they decided to spend the morning at the beach since it was the coolest part of the day, then spend the afternoon in Giardini Naxos. Since they had some time, Hermione suggested they might want to think about what they wanted to do the rest of the week so they wouldn't waste any more time planning. Everybody agreed with that idea, so Hermione got parchment and quill to take notes. They already had Wednesday planned for Rome, so that left Tuesday and Thursday to plan. Friday morning would be a little more beach or local travel then they'd return home that afternoon.

They decided that Tuesday morning would also be another beach/lounge morning. They'd go to Palermo after lunch. Since Sirius wouldn't need to get Remus until three, he could go with them initially then he'd retrace the route back to Potter Manor. He and Remus would catch back up with them. Harry would make sure he had his mirror with him so Sirius could find him easily. Fawkes flashed into the room at that point.

 _"I will watch over you while your father goes back for the wolf, nestling."_

"Fawkes said she'd go with us."

"That is one overprotective bird you've got there, Harry," said Ron.

The group laughed, but Harry said he wouldn't have it any other way.

The goblins had provided Sirius with a bag of Italian lira so there would be no need to convert galleons. The Grangers had already changed some pounds into lira before leaving. The magical areas would still take galleons. Sirius handed each teen a bag of ten galleons. If they wanted to buy items in the muggle world, he would exchange it for them. One galleon equaled just over eleven thousand lira. If they had spending money above the ten galleons, they could use that as well.

Seeing the town in daylight showed a sleepy little seaside village with several shops. Fishing was a large part of the village's life, but they mainly fished for magical ones related the tuna and swordfish. The xiphidas, or magical swordfish, were known to be kept in tanks to watch their duels as recreation in the area. The auxilatador tuna had three dorsal and three pectoral fins. When muggle fishermen would catch them, they'd celebrate it as an anomaly of the species as they didn't realize they were magical fish. They also took a trip to the local castle, the Castello di Schiso, but were disappointed. It had fallen into disrepair and really didn't have much to show. Sirius picked up several bottles of the local wine to serve with meals. He'd talked with the Grangers and they'd agreed that Hermione could try a glass, but no more. He'd conveniently 'forgotten' to ask Molly or Arthur about the twins, Ron or Ginny as had they done with Xeno Lovegood. While Sirius and Harry knew there was a well-stocked wine cellar, they were not going to broadcast that fact. Dinner that night had been typical of dinners elsewhere in the region with multiple courses composed of mostly local foods. The group went to bed full and happy.

When they entered the magical portion of Palermo, The Via Panormos, They decided it was somewhere between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. The twins saw the joke shop and immediately headed that direction while Ron wanted to go to the sweet shop and Hermione to the book store. Sirius said they had two hours to spend in the area before they would meet up at the floo. That should be about half three. The main group stayed together with the twins heading directly to the joke shop. Ginny and Luna went off in their own direction. The main group decided to visit in an orderly fashion. Sirius saw the travel agency so he went there to see what tours would be available to them for Thursday. He'd catch up with them later.

The sweets shop used local chocolate for most of its confections. The taste was different from Honeydukes, but no less enjoyable. There were some English treats such as Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans and Chocolate Frogs, but the frog cards were written in Italian. They went by the pet store so Harry could find something for Hedwig and Hermione something for Crookshanks. Dobby was keeping Crookshanks at Potter Hall for Hermione.

As they went by an open air market, Harry heard a voice, " _See those light blue things that look like grapes, nestling?_ "

"Yes."

" _Those are delicacies for my species. I would like some if you would be so kind as to indulge me."_

Harry looked around for the firebird but didn't see her, but knew she was nearby. Harry picked up a large bunch and made a note to ask Pixie to pick up some more for the remainder of their trip. It seemed that Fawkes was quite excited about the find. Their final stop was the bookstore. Ron took off immediately for the Quidditch section while Neville went to the Herbology section. Both Harry and Hermione went to different, more academic sections. Hermione was disappointed that most of the books were written in either Italian or Latin, but she found a Transfiguration book in English while Harry found a Defense book.

When they all met back up at the Osteria Marocco, the pub with the public floo, the twins were talking about their visit to the joke shop. They'd talked with the owner and they'd shown him some of their inventions. He was already talking to them about getting the Italian license for Canary Crèmes. They left one of their mail order catalogs with him and said they'd need to talk to their business manager about any arrangements. They were looking forward to their visit to the Via Magia for more possible sales. Sirius and Remus came through the floo so they took a seat at one of the tables and ordered treats all around. Their local drink of preference was an almond malted beverage of some sort. While not as good as butterbeer, in their opinion, it was still good.

"Now that everyone is here, let's talk about what we'd like to do on Thursday. I got several pamphlets from the travel agency for tours of Sicily. The agent recommended a Muggle travel company that could design a tour for them. When they were done, they'd picked a trip to Mount Etna, that also took them through the grape and olive country with local tasting stops. Sirius went to book the tour while the rest finished their snacks. The travel agent would ask for Louis as their driver. He was a Squib that usually handled the tours for their agency.

Back at the villa, some went to take an afternoon rest while others went back out to the beach. The twins took Sirius off to the side to discuss 'business' with him. They told him of the offer from the joke store owner. Sirius said he'd go back with them Friday morning with a sample of their wares. He also suggested they take a sample with them to Rome to show there as well. While Sirius was happy for their budding business, he also warned them of his requirement for them to complete their NEWTS. Sirius said it might be possible to set them up with research space in Black Hall for the summer – but an adult had to be present when they were working.

At dinner that night, the students tried to get Remus to tell them their grades, but the Marauder refused to buckle under the bribes being offered. He almost gave in when Harry promised him more of the chocolate from the Chalet. After the teens had gone to bed, Remus told Sirius and the Grangers that both children had achieved an Outstanding in his class.

Wednesday started out early for the group as they took the floo to Rome. They met their tour bus (it was a Muggle bus with enlargement spells inside. The one thing about riding in magical transportation is that they never had to worry about traffic jams. They stopped at the Forum and the Colosseum, visiting the magical sections of both. There was a stop at the Vatican. It was a little known fact that Michelangelo had help from house elves as he painted the Sistine Chapel. Many times people would think it was him painting, but it was actually a house elf transformed to look like him. One man couldn't do all of that work!

It was a tired group that returned to the Via Magia later that afternoon, but not too tired to walk through the stores. The twins grabbed Sirius and took him with them to visit the largest of the joke shops. This time they wanted their 'business manager' with them. They'd brought a larger sample of their wares with them than they had taken to Palermo. By the time they were done, the shop owner wanted to hire them on the spot. Instead, he took a copy of their catalog. When they returned to Britain, Sirius was going to introduce them to Silvergrip to get a vault established for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and have Gerald draw up a contract between them and the Rome store for sole distribution rights in Italy. Remus found a sweets store similar to Honeydukes that touted some of the best chocolate in existence, but Remus was still partial to the Hogsmeade store. Harry found some unusual socks that he thought Dobby would like so he got a couple of pairs for the elf.

Dinner that night was a traditional Roman feast shared with about forty of their soon-to-be closest friends. All the teens gathered in one area so they could talk about the adults with impunity. Several were Americans, some Italians and there was one Japanese boy. While there was a bit of a language barrier with the Italians and Japanese, for the most part, there wasn't that much difficulty. A lot of their talk centered around the similarities and differences of their respective schools. The twins slipped a canary crème to one of the Americans which brought the house down in a gale of laughter. There was another possible outlet for their wares. There was a very happy and full group who returned to Potter Villa that evening.

It was a good thing they had scheduled their tour of Sicily for the afternoon as most of the group had a bit of a lie in the next morning. Some spent some more time on the beach while Tonks, Hermione and her parents decided on a morning in. This gave Tonks some more 'big sister' time with the younger witch. Their tour of Sicily that afternoon was more than a bit educational. While they spent some time near Mount Etna, they also spent some time in the olive groves and one winery. Sirius had brought along potions for those who might imbibe a bit too much, but the adults were watching the younger ones to ensure that didn't happen. Even the twins were cautious.

After more time on the beach in the morning, the group portkeyed back to Potter Manor after lunch. Rizzo had outdone himself on their visit and everyone made sure to thank him and Pixie for the care they received. Remus and Tonks took the Grangers, including Hermione, back to Potter Hall to pick up their car and have a few days together before Hermione headed back to Hogwarts for the final term of the year. Neville and Luna also floo'd back to their respective homes leaving just Harry, Ron and Ginny at the Manor. Remus was returning to Hogwarts once he'd seen the Grangers safely off.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sirius had a quick discussion with the twins about the proper protocol with Goblins and especially the fact that they would be with a Goblin Friend. Sirius had set this meeting up after the twins' experience in Palermo. Despite their fun-loving nature, they knew when to be, well, serious. Gerald met them outside the bank, having learned of the formalities now shown to Sirius on each visit. Once reaching Silvergrip, he introduced the twins and discussed their needs. Silvergrip 'suggested' the twins have their own account manager to grow with their business from the start. He had an apprentice he felt would be perfect for the job – his son Silvertouch. He had been grooming his son for such an opportunity and he saw much profit in this venture. Sirius established their vault with 5000 galleons; 2500 each from him and Harry. More might be forthcoming when they had the results of their NEWTs Once done there, they went to Gerald's office. Everyone understood this was a loan. The Weasleys would own eighty percent with Sirius and Harry splitting the remaining twenty.

Gerald was happy to bring on these young entrepreneurs. He'd known Arthur and Molly for years, so it was good to see more of their sons branch out, even if it was a bit premature. They gave the solicitor the information from both joke shops they'd visited and said they would not be able to send them much stock until the start of the summer holidays. They'd left most of their remaining stock with both proprietors, so they'd need some time to build up inventory. They also discussed the Palermo shop owner's offer of an apprenticeship. While the twins were honored, they were insistent they wanted to be their own bosses. For now, Sirius and Harry would foot the legal bills from WWW until they opened their shop front. Sirius already had an eye on 93 Diagon Alley for them, but for now, he and Gerald settled for renting it out for various functions. Dobby enjoyed the extra work to turn it into the appropriate venue as necessary.

OoOoOoOoOo

Once Sirius and Harry returned to Black Hall, Dobby brought over the mail that he had not brought to the villa for them. On top was a letter in formal parchment; Harry's term grades. He took the envelope with less trepidation than he'd had at Christmas; he knew he'd done well.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Second Term Grade Report

Harry James Potter-Black

Third Year

Class Rank: 6 of 38

 **Pass Grades:**

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

 **Fail Grades**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Ancient Runes O

Astronomy E

Care of Magical Creatures O

Charms O

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Herbology O

History of Magic E

Potions E

Transfiguration O

Harry grabbed Dobby and did a little dance around the room. When Kreacher came to investigate the noise, Harry grabbed him and brought him into his circle.

Sirius was still waiting to see just what the grades were as he only knew of his DADA grade. Finally, he caught Harry and reached for the letter; Harry gave it to him readily.

"Well done, pup! This just shows what you can do when you have competent teachers. Apparently Professor Newell is living up to his billing in more than just his archival talents."

"Yeah, he's really easy to understand and follow. He actually teaches the information instead of lecturing in a monotone."

"I'm interested in what the OWL and NEWT scores will be over the next few years with a competent professor in residence. How do the others feel about him?"

"Everyone I've talked to thinks he's brilliant!" And that set Harry off into a discussion about the new professors. Sirius also reminded him that he had some holiday homework to complete, so Harry took his books to library to get it done.


	72. Spring Fever

**A/N: No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth and no, I'm not planning to leave this hanging. I try to write a couple of chapters ahead so I can make sure things flow right, but the chapter after this is just refusing to be written! I think it will be the next-to-last chapter. I think I'll go ahead and start working on that one and come back to the other to fill in spots. It's also possible that in-between one will be two chapters instead of one. Bear with me and we'll bring Harry's third year to a close.**

72\. Spring Fever

The ride to Hogwarts on the tenth was a bit rowdy. Spring fever had already started and it would only get worse. Two more months until the end of the year. The twins had their OWLs and Percy had his NEWTS. Over the holidays, Percy had spoken with his parents about the offer of an apprenticeship at Hogwarts with Madam Pince and Professor Newell. It would combine both Librarianship and Archival Preservation. It would expand time for Madam Pince to do her part with the Founders' Library as well as allow Professor Newell to teach him about archiving and preservation. He would also be responsible for overseeing the Founders Library when visitors were there. One thing Irma Pince understood about Percy; he would follow his instructions to the letter. Percy had been ecstatic about it. He'd been looking forward to seeking a position in the Ministry, but this suited his talents better.

Percy would have a room in the castle and still wear a Hogwarts uniform of sorts. Instead of a house crest and colors, he would wear the Hogwarts crest and plain black robes. Harry had set up a fund from the basilisk for the preservation of the Library and it covered Percy's apprenticeship as well as a small stipend. Percy was also hoping to go back and pick up the History of Magic NEWT, now having a competent teacher.

As soon as they'd gotten on the Express, the twins had taken Lee Jordan aside and told him of their business transactions over the week. Sirius had also taken them by the trunk shop where they both picked up a trunk with a working potions laboratory. They wouldn't have to find out of the way spots to brew anymore. Sirius told them to use Potter Hall as their shipping address for ingredients and Dobby would pop their packages over and into their trunks once they gave him access. They'd do that after the Welcoming Feast. As far as Mrs. Weasley knew, they were just three-compartment trunks like Ron had. She'd actually praised them for buying something so practical! Ginny decided she'd get herself one with her money from Malfoy and the basilisk fund that summer. Being able to carry what she needed in her pocket was quite handy!

Professor Snape requested time to consult with Lily about, what he hoped would be, the last adjustment to the Wolfsbane potion. He'd left the date up to Harry but had requested Harry plan his "detention" sometime during the current week. Harry knew he didn't have a double Potions class until Friday, but he'd make sure it would be a good one. They were supposed to be making a Murtlap Essence balm, which was relatively simple, unless you used fresh Murtlap tentacles instead of pickled ones. Using fresh Murtlap caused the tentacles to triple in size. Harry had his potion nearing the final stages when he 'slipped' two fresh tentacles into the brew. Needless to say, there was a major disruption in the class and Harry was 'awarded' detention that evening so he could "scrub the mess out of all the cauldrons."

While there was some grumbling from the other Gryffindors, Hermione just nodded her head in a knowing way. Ron went along with the others just to keep up the front. The Slytherins were surprised he would make such a basic mistake after all this time, but they weren't going to mention it. Whatever the reason, it didn't have to do with them.

Harry arrived promptly at seven. Once bade entrance, he brought his parents' portrait into the Potion Master's office and resized it.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter-Black. You'll find a cauldron set up for you to complete the potion you so miserably sabotaged this morning. I'm sure it was obvious to everyone in that room you were trying to do so."

"Sorry, sir, but since this was the only double potions class this week, I had to come up with something. Once I'm finished, what would you like me to do?"

"Once you've bottled your potion report back here. I want to inspect if before you clear your workstation." Harry dutifully left for the classroom and his 'detention'.

"He's doing much better, Severus," said Lily.

"When he puts his mind to it and concentrates, he is a fair brewer. He will never be Potions Master caliber, but he should get the OWL and NEWT necessary for many of the advanced careers."

James added, "Coming from you, Snape, that's high praise." Lily gave her husband a look that said he'd best go find himself somewhere else to be so off he went. He could usually be found on the fourth floor flying with the Quidditch match going on in one of the paintings there.

"Now, what may I help you with tonight, Severus?"

"The Devil's Claw is definitely the solution to the muscle soreness and weakness. According to Lupin, he had very little after his last transformation. I'm concerned about the injuries he is still able to inflict."

"Did you try increasing the valerian root?"

"As in completely sedating him rather than relaxing him?"

"That would seem to be an option. I had thought about belladonna, but felt its toxicity along with the aconite would kill Remus."

"You have a point. While it may work instead of the valerian, I think we can rule that out. Let me try an increase of the valerian and see if that helps."

"You have put in the paperwork for the patent, haven't you, Severus?"

"I wanted to test out one more month to be certain it does what we say it does, but the paperwork is ready other than the final recipe."

"Sirius and Harry are planning to announce the Wolfsbane Fund around the first of July. You need to have it done by then and your journal article submitted. And don't tell me you're too busy, Severus Snape!"

Severus had learned to recognize that expression on Lily's face and knew that he'd best do what she was telling him to do. How he wished she were alive and they could publish the findings jointly. He nodded his head and said, "As you wish."

It wasn't much longer before Harry knocked and presented his completed potion to the professor.

"Your results are as expected. You will find some empty tins in the back of the classroom. Please pour out the remaining potion into them. Madam Pomfrey is running a bit low at the moment. Once you have completed that and cleaned up your workstation, you may go."

While Lily was finding James, Harry left to do as the professor had instructed. Lily actually found him in the Headmistress' office having a cup of tea. While she would like to visit her old professor as well, it was time for them to return to the dungeons, promising another visit when Harry had a bit of time.

OoOoOoOoOo

The week leading up to the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match wasn't quite as brutal as that of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. The castle just assumed Slytherin would obliterate Hufflepuff even more than Ravenclaw had. It worked to Hufflepuff's advantage. It helped Slytherin to underestimate the Puffs, especially their seeker and captain, Cedric Diggory. He'd taken every opportunity he could to practice on the new broom and was almost as comfortable as Harry was. Draco was also overconfident in his abilities, thinking that the step up from the Nimbus 2001 to the Firebolt wasn't that big of a deal.

The Slytherins were making a mockery of the Hufflepuff keeper. Lee Jordan was having problems keeping his comments about the dirty tactics of the Slytherin beaters in check, but the final warning from Professor Burbage and the threat to sit him out for the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match the next month straightened him right up. After an hour and a half, Slytherin was leading 200 – 30 when Cedric spotted the snitch. Draco was on the other side of the pitch and made a vain attempt at it but it was over before it began. While Slytherin won 200 – 180, Hufflepuff could claim catching the snitch. Cedric Diggory was a hero in the eyes of all of Hogwarts with the exception of Slytherin House. With Gryffindor and Slytherin tied at two wins apiece, the final game of the season of Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw would decide the winner of the Quidditch Cup.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sunday morning found Hermione and Harry in the DADA classroom. Hermione had come so close the previous week to having a fully formed _Patronus_. While it was still mostly mist, you could see it trying to wiggle a bit. With the memories from Easter holidays, Remus was certain she would be able to produce one at any time. Harry was still working on his messenger Patronus, but almost had it down. His otterhound had made trips to see Remus, Minerva and Sirius, with mostly success.

"Hermione, you are concentrating too much on willing it to happen than feeling it happen," said Remus, "The _Patronus_ charm is as much about feelings as it is intent. Now, take a couple of deep breaths and try again."

"Try it with your eyes closed, Hermione. That's what worked for me. I was thinking more about the memory than I was actually casting the spell," added Harry.

The young witch closed her eyes and thought about her memory – the feeling of love and acceptance she'd felt while they were in Sicily. She closed in on a memory of them around the dinner table talking and laughing. Her parents were in conversation with the Tonks while Tonks (Nymphadora, that is) was entertaining them with various faces and looks. Smiling at the memory, she raised her wand and said, " _Expecto Patronum_." From the two gasps she heard, it apparently worked, but as soon as she opened her eyes, it was gone.

"Well done, Hermione," said Remus.

"But what was it? I missed it!" she exclaimed.

"It looked kind of like the Hufflepuff badger to me," said Harry.

"It's definitely in the family, but I don't think that's what it is. We need to see it longer to be sure. Try it again. The memory you used appears to be significant enough to power it. Take a few moments to gather your feelings again, then try it," replied Remus.

Hermione went through the same thoughts as before, only this time with her eyes open. She took in a deep breath, then said " _Expecto Patronum_." Out of her wand came a small animal who began to play around the room, doing flips and dips. That's when Remus laughed.

Hermione gave him a dirty look as her _Patronus_ faded. "I don't see what's so funny! It worked!"

"It did, indeed. I wasn't laughing at you, just at your _Patronus_ ' form. I believe yours is an otter," said Remus.

"So what's funny about an otter? They're very useful animals." she said indignantly.

"Cast again, then Harry, cast yours," the werewolf replied.

It didn't take Hermione long to cast this time, having the self-assurance now that she could do it. Once her otter was frolicking around the room, Harry cast his and then there was a chase as the otter tried to get away from the otterhound. That's when it finally dawned on Hermione why Remus had laughed; then she colored a lovely shade of red. It had taken Harry a bit longer to put the two pieces together, then he also turned a bit red as well.

"Ummmm, Remus, does that mean anything?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Not necessarily. It's not unusual for those having a closeness with each other to have compatible _Patronus_ shapes. As you know, Harry, your father's was a stag while your mother's was a doe."

"So does this mean…" and then he faltered. All the while Hermione stayed nicely blushed as well.

"There is no inherent meaning. As you both have been close friends for so long, it probably reflects your magic has affinity for each other." At that point, there was a knock on the door. When it opened, it was Minerva.

"Nicely done, Mr. Potter. I believe you'll find the messenger _Patronus_ quite useful. And how is your lesson coming along, Miss Granger?"

Remus nodded to her in reassurance and soon her otter was back playing around the room.

"Nicely done, Miss Granger. I believe ten points to Gryffindor are in order for performing a NEWT level spell."

"Thank you Professor."

"And another five points to Mr. Potter-Black for a well-done messenger. However, if you don't mind, I need to speak with your tutor for a moment."

Harry and Hermione thanked Remus again for his time, then headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione was floating just a little bit above the surface of the castle as they went.

OoOoOoOoOo

The full moon on the 25th would hopefully be the final test of this version of the Wolfsbane. As he and Lily had discussed, Severus had increased the valerian by a quarter. He didn't want to tinker with the Devil's Claw since it was potentially explosive. He'd had a few accidents at the beginning until he'd found the right proportion that would have the anti-inflammatory properties they wanted but would work with the aconite. Severus had warned Remus about the probability of increased drowsiness, so he'd taken it just before flooing to Potter Hall. Sirius would be there with him as Padfoot so they could have a monitor for the effects. Dobby would also watch, but would not interfere. Minerva would come and ward the space from the outside as an added protection.

Since the potion had to be taken for a full week prior to the full moon, Severus had been able to study the effects on the untransformed werewolf. Other than the increased drowsiness, there had been no other noticeable side effects. With moonrise on the night of the full moon not until just after half eight, Remus had not lost any teaching time so far other than the day of the full moon. He'd had no problems sleeping during that week!

Remus ate an early dinner then met Severus in Minerva's office so he could floo directly to Potter Hall after drinking the potion. Sirius was there waiting for him. They'd had a lively discussion about the state of wizarding government with Amelia now in full Minister mode. Sirius knew she had a slate of law changes waiting for the Wizengamot on Thursday. Most were silly laws restricting how the Department of Magical Law Enforcement operated as well as the regulation of magical beings. Dirk Cresswell had been consulting with Remus on laws concerning werewolves. The major topic Remus had on his behalf was the endless cycle of not being able to get a steady job to enable him to buy the Wolfsbane Potion which would allow him to keep a job.

One thing Neville had found in the Potter greenhouses was a large crop of aconite in stasis. Unfortunately, because it was toxic to elves, they had not been able to harvest and sell it. Sirius and Harry were going to meet with Pomona and Neville on Tuesday after Harry's last class and Sirius' board meeting. If Neville's estimate was correct, the Potter greenhouses could provide a large amount of the primary ingredients for the initial group of werewolves to be supported through the Wolfsbane Fund.

As time passed moonrise, Remus transformed. He and Padfoot played around for a bit, but the drowsiness quickly overcame Moony and he curled up to sleep the rest of the night away. Dobby placed a cushioning charm on the floor to make it more comfortable then brought a bowl of tea for Padfoot who then curled up and went to sleep himself.

Shortly after sunrise, Remus stretched and took inventory of himself. While there was still some muscle soreness and stiffness, he felt reasonably well! He quickly found a mug of tea on a small table appear next to him.

"Thank you Dobby."

"Master Wolfie be feeling better?"

"Yes, Dobby, I do. I can't remember when I've felt this good after a transformation. I will be thanking Severus and Lily profusely when next I see them."

Hearing voices, Sirius stirred as well. After casting a _Tempus_ , he said, "Moony? You're up earlier than usual. Is everything okay?"

"More than okay, Padfoot. This adjustment to the potion appears to have been the final tweak. Other than completely stopping the transformation, I think it is the best we can hope for."

"I checked on you several times overnight and each time you appeared to be sleeping peacefully."

"The additional valerian did calm the wolf down and relaxed me to the point that I didn't notice anything until sunrise."

"Would Masters be wanting breakfast now?"

"I think I would like a shower first if you don't mind unwarding the door," said Remus.

Dobby snapped his fingers and the door opened.

Sirius said, "Dobby, could you take a message to Minerva that all is well and there is no need for her or Madam Pomfrey to come over? She was planning to floo over about half six, so I would expect she is already awake. I think we'll be ready for breakfast in a half hour."

Dobby popped out quickly. While Remus went to shower and change, Sirius floo'd back to Black Hall to do the same. When both men were back in the kitchen with a full breakfast before them, they felt a bit more like talking. Dobby had reported that Minerva still wanted Poppy to check Remus over to have medical documentation of the effects of the modified potion. Once they were finished with their breakfast, the wizards parted ways. They'd catch up again later in the day.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Board of Governors meeting did not have quite as many things to discuss as in previous months. They went through the budget briefly just to reassure the members that the budget was being managed properly. Clinkshaft had proven to be an astute account manager, once he was allowed to actually do his job. There was a noticeable change in the balance sheet for the school, all in the positive. Minerva had received the budget requests from each department and would be working with Charity and Sirius on the final allotments for the next year. When they finished their planned agenda, it was turned over to Minerva for any other updates from the school.

"The working group for the Non-Magical Culture course brought up several ideas which we are adopting immediately. The first one concerns the curriculum changes and the new coursework. They suggested we have a 'Course Fair' where we can have the professors there to answer questions about their classes. This will be important especially for the current first and second years. The first part of the 'Fair' will be an overall discussion about the changes that will go into effect in September. I will meet with the current first years before the remainder of the school joins us. We will open up the unused classrooms on the first floor and allow the professors of the new courses as well as those for Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures to each have a room where students will be able to come in and ask questions. Professor Black will be using two of these classrooms; one for Latin and one for Magical Culture; which she has already begun to make her own. This is scheduled for May 22nd.

"The second item is having a 'Career Day'. We will bring in representatives from various careers to discuss their jobs with the students so they will know just what options they have available and what academic requirements there are for each one. Previously, we've just passed out pamphlets in the common rooms then had the Heads of House meet individually with the fifth years. Each Head has already had their required career counseling with their fifth years, but this will open it up to the entire school. Every year I've been asked why career counseling couldn't happen sooner. In the future, I plan to have the Career Day each Fall. I've written to the Guilds as well as the Ministry and have received a good response. This is scheduled for May 14th. The fifth and sixth years will be given two hours at the beginning then we will open it up to the rest of the school. Beginning next year, Career Counseling with the Heads of Houses will occur in second, fifth and sixth years. Hopefully we will be able to actually guide our students into appropriate courses and careers."

These two new events stirred up quite a bit of discussion. There were questions as to whether the Heads of Houses had individual meetings each year with their students (yes, all but Gryffindor which Remus had already rectified). There was an inquiry as to the success of the new brooms – unquestionably and some of the hesitant fliers (Neville and Hermione for example) had felt confident enough to try again on the new brooms. Madam Hooch had conducted quite a few 'Remedial Flying" classes. Only Gryffindor remained to fly the new brooms in a Quidditch match and that would happen in May.

The final item she had was opening up Hogsmeade weekends to all years. It put the first two years at a disadvantage, especially the Muggleborns, as it wasn't as easy for them to get necessary items from home as most families didn't have an owl or access to one. They were dependent on upper year students to get items for them. The final decision was to allow the first and second years to go to Hogsmeade on different weekends from the upperclassmen and have them escorted by four Prefects from each house. Sirius said he was working with Ragnok about opening a temporary branch in Hogsmeade for those weekends to allow students to withdraw limited funds as well as change Muggle money into galleons. With that good news, the Board adjourned for the month.

OoOoOoOoOo

Since Remus wasn't teaching that day, Sirius went to check on his friend to ensure it really had been an easy transformation. Madam Pomfrey had pronounced him "well" but not well enough to teach class that day. She still wanted to keep to the two days off per month for now. Since Harry's last class was Herbology, Professor Sprout would walk back with Harry and Neville to Remus' classroom. Remus reconfigured it to five comfortable chairs with a table for tea. They had a lively discussion, but the final result was that the professor wouldn't be able to give them a good assessment of the suspected bounty until she actually saw it. They decided that a 'field trip' to Potter Manor on Saturday was in order. Pomona also suggested they invite Severus for his opinion on the value of the plants not currently harvested for potions ingredients. Harry said he would make the offer after Friday's class. Sirius would get Madam Longbottom's permission for Neville to be away from the castle.

OoOoOoOoOo

Thursday was the monthly Wizengamot meeting. All of the members were relieved there were no trials scheduled for the day. Amelia had presented her recommended changes in the laws and requested the members take a month to review then vote on them at the May meeting. She knew there would be quite a bit of discussion, so she recommended to Lord Ogden that he appoint two groups; one to review the recommended changes for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and another for the Magical Beings. Sirius requested that any changes for werewolves be tabled until the June meeting to allow for the results of his own research to be complete. With that information, Sirius was quickly appointed as the head of the Magical Beings working group. That's what happens when you volunteer information!

Ludo Bagman then made his presentation on the Quidditch World Cup. His mockup of the area was now almost complete. He had the area where the stadium would be marked out. Members of the Magical Maintenance Department as well as two magical construction companies were already laying the foundation for it. Based on the current schedule, it would be complete on the 31st of July even though the match wasn't scheduled until August 25th. Campers would begin arriving two weeks ahead of the match to accommodate the numerous portkey and apparition requests. They had sectioned off two areas for fans of the two as yet undecided teams. Water stations had been identified to ensure there were sufficient locations to support the masses. Comfort facilities were also identified as not everyone would have that option available in their accommodations. Arthur, Amos and Ludo had met with the new Prime Minister's liaison, Dorothea Sampson, and provided her with the information on the event as well as who their contact was in the Civil Aviation Authority. Things were coming together nicely.

Sirius had already bought a VIP box. It would have enough seats for him, Harry, Remus, Narcissa, Draco, the Weasleys, the Grangers and the Tonks. It would seat twenty-four, so if Harry could convince Neville to join them, there would be room. The Potters had several multi-room tents as did Narcissa and Arthur had access to one. Between them, they should be able to house the entire group.

The final item on the agenda was the nomination of a new Chief Warlock. Sirius had been approached by several members to allow his name to be put forth, but he had declined all offers and said he would not look kindly on any attempts to 'draft' him. Daniel Greengrass was nominated as expected as was Augusta Longbottom. She declined with a death glare at the wizard who'd tried to nominate her. Wendell Abbott, whose wife reported for _Witch Weekly_ and was on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, was also nominated and accepted. With so many seats held in proxy, it was difficult to find qualified candidates. In the end, Lord Greengrass and Lord Abbott were the two candidates up for election next month.

OoOoOoOoOo

When Potions was over on Friday, Harry stayed back to speak with his professor. His friends were aware of the subject so they didn't bother staying behind.

Harry cleared his throat, then said, "Professor, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"I believe you already are, Mr. Potter-Black. Now what do you need?"

"Well, sir, Professor Sprout and Neville are going out to Potter Manor tomorrow to evaluate my greenhouses. Apparently there is a large section of aconite in one of the ones that's in stasis. There are also lots of other plants Neville couldn't identify that may be useful. We were thinking the Potter greenhouses could supply the aconite for the Wolfsbane trials among other ingredients. We thought you might want to join us to help us determine what we have and what value it might bring."

Severus was surprised once again by this young wizard. He wasn't sure who had actually come up with the idea to bring him along, he suspected it was Pomona, but it was definitely worthwhile if he had a supply of aconite readily available. Bringing it out of stasis would be tricky, but it would be quite profitable to the Potter estate.

"I think that would be a very good idea. Where would you like for me to meet you?"

"Professor McGonagall is letting us use her floo. We were planning to leave at nine, if that is convenient for you."

"I will plan to meet you in the Headmistress' office at that time, then."

Harry passed along the information about the additional person to Remus after their DADA lesson that afternoon. Neville had been surprised that the Potions Master would be seen with that many Gryffindors, much less his childhood enemy, Sirius Black, but times were changing and, in this case, for the better.

When everyone had assembled in the Headmistress' office, they waited for a call from Sirius to indicate he was at Potter Manor to welcome the guests. Harry would go through first so he could also officially welcome his guests and Remus would bring up the rear. Sirius had spoken with Cassie and Tizzy after Tuesday's meeting to alert the elves to their plans so that Tizzy could ensure those greenhouses he could access were in immaculate condition.

When Severus arrived, the only thing he could think was that James Potter would be rolling over in his grave if he ever knew a Snape had set foot in his precious manor house. Pomona looked around curiously. She'd been in a couple of the old manor houses, but this one had to be the largest so far. Harry led the group through the sun porch and out to the back yard. Tizzy was waiting for them in the first greenhouse. It was well tended. There were rows of dittany, Chinese chomping cabbages, gurdyroots, shrivelfigs, puffapods and more. Severus now knew where many of the ingredients for his private stores came from; these were exceptionally well tended. After the two professors admired this greenhouse, they went to greenhouse two, which also contained more potion ingredients. Harry had given Professor Sprout permission to take clippings of anything not in the Hogwarts greenhouses as well as Professor Snape to take small cuttings for his private stores. Both were like kids in a candy store. Greenhouse three was similar to the other two.

It was greenhouse four that got the most attention so far. This was the one that housed the aconite. Tizzy waited outside for them, wringing his hands in case they found something wrong with it. He so much wanted to tend to it, but he couldn't. Master Charlus and Master James had tried to help the little elf understand that it was not his fault he couldn't do for it what he did for the first three greenhouses.

If Pomona and Severus thought the first three were impressive, the fourth was even more so. There were several long rows of aconite near the front of the greenhouse. Severus found some Devil's Claw near the back and asked permission to take a clipping back to Hogwarts. It would be good to get a small crop growing for the modified Wolfsbane potion. Fresh valerian was in the first greenhouse. By the time the next full moon came around, the plants would be in perfect shape for brewing the wolf's potion.

Where tags weren't on plants or Neville hadn't been able to identify them, Pomona made small tags and placed them on stands in front of the plants. The fifth, and last, greenhouse had even more rare plants; some even Pomona had just heard about but never seen. There were also a crop of mandrakes in various stages of growth. Neville was keeping a log of what they were finding so that he could learn how to tend them. He would convince his grandmother to allow him to work in the Potter greenhouses this summer as well as bring clippings of some of the more unusual plants back to Longbottom Manor. Harry had already told him to take whatever he wanted.

After an instructive morning, they returned to the porch to see Cassie putting the finishing touches on lunch. Rizzo had outdone himself again. Severus was hesitant, but Harry let the professor know that he was, indeed, welcome. When they were done, Dobby would bring the crates of plants for both professors back to Remus' office, then the Hogwarts elves could take them where they were supposed to go. This kept them from being injured by any of the more dangerous plants. After escorting his guests back to the floo, Harry joined Sirius and Remus in the study. Remus had told Minerva they had some House business to discuss and would return before dinner.

OoOoOoOoOo

Before they settled down, Sirius floo called Gerald and he stepped through. There were quite a few things he'd been working on for Harry and finally had all the information. There were three things on the agenda for the afternoon: The Wolfsbane Fund, The Muggleborn Student Scholarship Fund and the War Orphan's Fund.

"Harry, good to see you again! It's been too long since Christmas."

"Good to see you again, Mr. Howe. I appreciate all the work you've been doing for me."

Gerald laughed, "Between you and Sirius, my days are quite full. You've also enabled me to hire two new legal assistants who, hopefully one day, will become solicitors as well. It's me who should be thanking you!"

"Alright, let's stop all the nonsense and get down to business. Harry has to go back to Hogwarts sometime today," chuckled Sirius.

Which of the funds do you want to talk about first, Harry?"

"Which is easiest?"

"The Muggleborn Scholarship Fund would be the least controversial. Your final amount of reparations from Dumbledore were just under 400,000 galleons. As you know, your mother funded it initially with 100,000 galleons."

"Does Professor McGonagall know how many Muggleborn students there are currently and how many she's expecting next year?"

"Right now, it's looking like about eight in the new class. There are currently 52 other Muggleborns attending Hogwarts."

"How much does it cost to attend Hogwarts each year?"

"Tuition is four thousand galleons per year," said Sirius.

"Harry, there isn't enough in the fund to pay for all Muggleborns even though I know you want to. Your mother established a board to manage the fund and that's their job to determine who should get one. There's nothing preventing them from awarding partial scholarships. Remember, your mother said the first five years would come from the Potter Vaults based on the initial 100,000 galleon bequest. If you want to place you're the entire 400,000 galleons in the fund, then that will give them an additional four full scholarships or quite a few more partial ones if they decide so. We will be able to tell more next year when it's had time to accrue interest," said Remus.

"So, could we give the others a stipend like you're doing for Hermione and the Weasleys, Sirius?" asked Harry.

"It's something to look at. How much were you thinking about?" asked Sirius.

"Well, you're giving them twenty galleons, so what about the same for the others?"

"Let's put that before the Committee and see what they say," said Gerald, "So what about the Wolfsbane Fund? You received 80,000 galleons from Umbridge. We can have that transferred to the Fund if you'd like. Sirius has already seeded the Fund with the 400,000 galleons he got from the Ministry for his false imprisonment."

"That's fine. I don't want anything from that toad! Seems poetic justice to use her money for people she hated. Did Sirius tell you about the greenhouses?"

"He did. That will help defray some of the costs and allow the Fund to support more werewolves. The trick will be to get them to use it."

"I think when they find out how Remus was able to work at Hogwarts this year as well as the changes to the potion itself, you will get more takers," said Sirius.

"I received the patent paperwork from Severus Snape Tuesday and should have it to the Ministry next week. Apparently, Damocles Belby only patented the original potion and did not include any subsequent modifications," said Gerald.

Remus added, "I've already been working with Dirk Cresswell and he's quite enthusiastic about the changes. He tried to offer me the Head of the Werewolf Liaison Office, but I turned him down as I already have a job I'm quite happy with."

"Well, it seems like that's all taken care of then. What about the War Orphans' Fund?" asked Harry.

The War Orphan's Fund had taken the longest to get the information as many of them had dispersed after the war. In the end, Sirius finally hired a recent Hogwarts graduate to delve into the records at the Ministry to find the information. The final count, including those whose parents were permanently incapacitated (like Neville), twenty-one years old or under was 191. Trying to track down those who were born since Riddle's rise to power in 1971 put the number closer to 500.

"What were you thinking about, Harry?" asked Sirius.

"I was thinking about five thousand galleons each?"

"That's a lot of money, Harry," said Remus.

Well, the number also includes children of Death Eaters. Did you want to reward them too?" asked Sirius.

"I thought we'd said we wouldn't blame the kids for what their parents did," replied Harry.

Sirius nodded in acknowledgement.

"Harry, while not exactly your financial advisor, you do pay me for my opinion. While that's an admirable thing you want to do, you're talking about just under one million galleons. You were not responsible for their being orphaned, Tom Riddle was. You don't owe them anything. The money you received over the years for defeating Riddle was meant to come to you or such a fund would have already been established," said Gerald.

"I have to agree with Gerald on this, pup."

"If you remember, the total of the money received from bequests and contributions was around 400,000 galleons. As I am your financial advisor, my advice is to use it for something else," said Remus.

"OK, well if we're talking about a limit of 400,000 galleons, what about 1,000 galleons then?"

"You're determined to do something, aren't you, pup?"

Harry had that look in his eyes and set of his face that reminded both Sirius and Remus of Lily when she set her mind to something, "Yes. It's not right that I got all of this stuff when I didn't do anything; my parents did. And can you see if there's anything Wizarding Family Services needs? I'm sure they could use some funds. They're always talking about helping orphans in the Muggle world."

"I will speak with Amelia and see if there is anything they need," said Sirius, placating his son.

With that bit of business completed, Sirius and Gerald departed while Remus escorted Harry back to Hogwarts. Harry made a stop in the Potter library for a couple of reference works he wanted as well as some requests from Hermione.


	73. The Merry Month of May, Part I

**A/N: Miss me? I apologize for how long it's taken me to get back to you, but life got in the way. New health issues as well as my inspiration taking an extended vacation. I split this chapter into two because it was getting so long. After these two chapters, the final one will be posted. I'm still working on it. I'd hoped to have this completed by the first of the year, but I don't think I'm going to make that, but it won't be much longer! Thank you for sticking with me!**

73\. The Merry Month of May, Part I

The first of May dawned quietly over the sleeping castle. Hogwarts on a Sunday was lazily awakening. Though there was still a month until exams started, the Library was one of the busiest places in the castle that day. Quite a few students had taken their books out onto the castle grounds to study. It was a perfect day to be outside. Those congregating around the Black Lake found the Giant Squid up for a bit of entertaining.

The third year Runes study group had decided to meet outside that day to take advantage of the good weather. They'd added a Sunday meeting in addition to their usual Thursday night session in preparation for the upcoming exams. Hermione, in her usual obsessiveness about revision, had provided a guide to their group on what they should cover each session to ensure they were all prepared. The other members weren't quite sure what to make of it, but they followed Harry's lead and thanked her for taking the time to plan it out for them. As they had done originally, they split the items to be covered among the entire group then each would go over their section as a mini-class.

In Friday's DADA class, Remus was covering Dementors. Just the thought of the foul creatures sent shivers down the spines of the entire class. They were all aware of their thoughts and feelings when the one had entered the Hogwarts Express at the start of the year. While small pockets of them had been seen throughout the world, it wasn't until the 15th century and the discovery of Azkaban island that such a large infestation of Dementors had been found. The Ministry, in its infinite wisdom, decided to turn the island into a prison using the Dementors as guards. While they still had to station Aurors there, the creatures greatly reduced the need for manpower. Over the years, the remaining Dementors gravitated there, leaving England the only country to have to deal with them. The ICW then decided that England would be the only country where Dementors would be allowed to stay (although if any showed up anywhere else, no one knew what they would do about it).

There actually was no known way to destroy Dementors, not even with fiendfyre, but since they had their "usefulness", there hadn't been a reason to find out in ages. Harry asked if basilisk venom would kill them, but Remus was unsure – nobody wanted to get that close to them to begin with and basilisk venom wasn't commonly available. Hermione then asked whether the Sword of Gryffindor would do it since it was covered in basilisk venom. Again, Remus wasn't sure. Perhaps this was something that the Department of Magical Beings or the Department of Mysteries could investigate. There was no known hierarchy in the Azkaban Dementors, but it appeared they had a collective intelligence. Once one was notified of something such as a new prisoner, it was quickly spread among the others.

Remus then went on to discuss the _Patronus Charm_. While it wasn't usually taught until NEWT level, he decided he'd see what these third years, other than Harry and Hermione, could do with it. The room was filled with shouts of " _Expecto Patronum_ " and lots of wand waving, but nobody was really attempting to cast the spell correctly. Remus stopped everyone and had them go over the wand movement silently. Then he had them demonstrate in pairs. He intentionally bypassed Harry and Hermione until Seamus noticed.

"Hey, why aren't Potter-Black and Granger doing this?"

Remus wasn't sure they wanted him to give their secret away so he looked at them inquisitively. Harry just shrugged his shoulders and soon his otterhound was running around the room. The whole class fell into peals of laughter when it ambled over to Seamus then hiked its leg.

"So Granger can do it too, then?" asked Dean.

Hermione also cast hers and let her otter do a turn around the room as well.

Ron hadn't realized they'd both been working on it and looked a bit put out.

"So when did you learn this? All that extra study time on Sundays?" huffed Ron.

"No, I learned it over the Christmas holidays. Sirius promised to teach me after I had so much trouble on the train," Harry said, rolling his eyes at the resurgence of Ron's jealousy.

"I have just learned it. I started after the attack. It's taken me a while to get it to fully form."

Before this could get into a war of words, Remus brought them back to task. When the class was over, several of them, including Ron, were able to at least produce a protective mist. Remus thought to himself that he'd try to work with Ron over the summer, as well as his brothers. Ginny definitely wasn't ready to tackle the spell and Remus wasn't quite sure if Ron had the magical maturity, much less mental maturity, to master the spell at this time, but he'd give it a try.

When class was over, Ron pushed past Harry and Hermione heading back to Gryffindor tower. Harry knew that this would be something Ron would have to work out for himself. He had decided that he would no longer let Ron's jealousy affect him after their argument earlier in the year.

OoOoOoOoOo

The last Hogsmeade trip of the year occurred on May seventh. Harry and his friends made their usual journey through the shops. Hermione wanted to stock up on additional books to take home for summer reading as she never knew when her parents would be able to take her to Diagon Alley. She knew that Harry would let her visit the Potter library and Sirius had said he'd let her visit the Black library as long as he was there supervising. There were still plenty of tomes not suitable for young witches and wizards.

It hadn't taken Ron long to figure out he had stuck his foot in his mouth again and quickly apologized to Harry and Hermione for his outburst in DADA. He joined the other two for part of the time in Hogsmeade. Ron decided to forgo his trip to Zonko's this time. He knew he wouldn't be able to use the joke products at home, so he was better off saving up for something he'd rather have, like a Quidditch magazine. Harry decided about the only thing he wanted was a small supply of Honeydukes' chocolate to last him through until the end of term (and get him through the final examinations).

With their shopping complete, they met up with the Ancient Runes study group for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Ron decided to spend some time with his other dormmates – he still wasn't comfortable yet with being around a group of Slytherins. If Madam Rosemerta was surprised to see a group from all houses in her establishment, she hid it well. She bustled around getting everyone's orders, then disappeared to the back to fill them. Bottles of butterbeer appeared on the table for each of the members of the group. It was a relaxed group of teens at the table.

Blaise Zabini had an observation, "Well, who'd have thought at the first of the year we'd all be having a merry luncheon together?"

Susan Bones replied, "I certainly didn't, but I'm glad we have. I've really enjoyed the study group. I hope we'll have it again next year."

Hermione added, "Draco has asked to be part of the group if we do have it next year."

Justin Finch-Fletchly replied, "He's really changed since all that business with his father. If he can continue to act properly, I don't have a problem with it."

Ernie MacMillan seconded it, "Neither do I."

Harry asked, "Would you mind it if he joined us for the rest of the term? I'm sure he could use the additional revising."

Seeing that no one had a problem with it, Harry said he'd talk to Draco about it.

The group enjoyed a tasty lunch, then went on about their business. Harry's group made a final stop at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop for last minute supplies, then they returned to the castle to get a bit of homework done before dinner.

OoOoOoOoOo

Saturday the 14th saw a bit of excitement in the castle. This was the day for the Career Day. Brunch would end at eleven o'clock to give the elves a bit of time to reconfigure the room for the event. At noon, the fourth, fifth and sixth years would have a chance to visit each of the booths first, then at two, it would be opened up to the entire school.

There were about two dozen booths in the Great Hall representing different occupations. Each booth had a poster up specifying the OWL/NEWT requirements. The Ministry had several booths (Magical Law Enforcement, Department of Mysteries, Muggle Relations, Magical Games and Sports, Magical Beings, International Magical Cooperation and Magical Accidents and Catastrophes). St. Mungo's had several booths, too, because there were several different specialties represented besides Healers: Potions Masters/Mistresses, Healer Assistants and Medi-Witch/Wizard to name a few. Gerald Howe was representing the legal field and was taking the opportunity to recruit a few new legal assistants and law interns for his firm as well as a few others who'd asked him to represent them. Bill Weasley was representing Gringotts Bank as a whole as well as providing information on curse breaking.

The students wandered throughout the Hall pausing to talk to the different representatives. Hermione wanted to stop at almost all of them (well, except for Magical Games and Sports which Ron DID want to spend time at), but satisfied herself with picking up pamphlets only for some of them. They ran into Draco at Gerald's booth.

"Draco," Harry greeted the other teen.

"Harry. Thinking of becoming a solicitor so you can keep yourself out of trouble?"

Harry laughed, "Not at all. Just came by to say hi. Thinking about it yourself?"

"Could be. It's a respectable career."

"You can do a lot of good for people," said Hermione.

"Well, it's not the only thing I'm thinking about," replied Draco.

With that little stop, they were on their way again. Harry had spent some time talking to Rufus Scrimgeour about the Auror office while Hermione went over to the Magical Beings booth and spoke with Dirk Cresswell. She was interested in rights for Elves as well as Werewolves. Since they were all third years, it was just a quick stop to pick up literature and move on. When the Hall closed at four, there was a lot of excited talk about just what could be done with a Hogwarts education. While the representatives were happy to speak with the fifth and sixth years, they were more pleased with the ability to discuss their careers opportunities with the younger students so that they could begin to prepare early for careers they were interested in.

OoOoOoOoOo

While talk about the Career Fair bled over into the next week, it was soon replaced by talk of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match on Saturday. There was none of the animosity shown during the week leading up to the match with Slytherin. There was quite a lot of good-natured boasting and daring, but there was no need for the teams to protect themselves from the other. The Slytherins were rooting for the Ravenclaws just on general principal; they'd never root FOR Gryffindor.

The school gathered at the pitch, waiting for the match to begin. Lee Jordan was in his position as commentator with Charity Burbage sitting beside him to keep his bias in check. The teams flew out to a rousing welcome. Harry knew Sirius was somewhere in the crowd, probably watching with Remus. Madam Hooch gave her standard 'good sportsmanship' lecture, then had Oliver Wood and Roger Davies shake hands. She then let the snitch fly and after waiting another minute, let the quaffle loose.

It was a fierce game with both teams exchanging the lead at different times. Harry thought he saw the snitch once, but by the time he'd gotten there, it was gone. The Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, was keeping close to Harry; not venturing out on her own. Harry finally got tired of his shadow so took a steep dive towards the base of the pitch, pulling up just a few feet above it. He was much more comfortable on the Firebolt, so he knew how far he could push it. Cho tried to pull up, but her foot caught in the grass and she went head over heels tumbling across the pitch. Madam Pomfrey came out to check on her and after several healing charms and one potion, she was back on her broom. After that, she stayed as far away from Harry as she could get.

After the first hour, the score was 170 – 120 in favor of Gryffindor. The snitch made another appearance by the Ravenclaw hoops, but again was elusive. At the ninety-minute point, Oliver called a time out to give his players a chance to catch their breath.

"Alright team, we're ahead of them and they're losing steam. Good going there, Harry, trying to get their seeker out of the game! Looks like you've scared her off. Fred, George, you've let a couple of bludgers get way too close to Harry. Keep a closer watch. Angelina, Alicia and Katie you're getting the quaffle through the hoops. Looks like their keeper is favoring the right hoop just a bit so you may want to aim for the left one a bit more. Let's go get that trophy!"

They were quickly back in the air, making a more concerted effort at ending the game. Harry finally saw the snitch near the Gryffindor hoops and gave chase. He'd had a half a pitch lead on Cho, so by the time he caught the snitch, she was just getting to the hoops. Harry raised the snitch in triumph with the final score Gryffindor 370, Ravenclaw 210. After a quick meeting at the Gryffindor hoops, they flew as a group towards the staff stands where Headmistress McGonagall was holding their trophy.

Oliver grabbed the trophy, then the team formed up on him and took a victory lap around the pitch. When they finally landed, the entire Gryffindor House was there to meet and congratulate them. The next thing Harry heard was one of the twins shouting, "Party in the Common Room in half an hour!" The team made their way to the changing rooms, but Harry held back a bit to allow Sirius to catch up with him.

"Well done, Harry! Good move on the other seeker! She'll think twice about following you too closely."

"I could barely turn, she could have reached out and grabbed the bristles of my broom!"

"Never a good idea to get close to a Potter on a broom. Well, you go on and enjoy the party. I'm sure there will be plenty of refreshments for you," he said with a wink.

It was definitely a party for the record books. Harry wondered where the food and butterbeer was coming from after the initial bounty until he caught a glimpse of Dobby bringing in another case of butterbeer. Usually the twins were "late" showing up to the party because they were bringing the stash from the tunnel to Honeydukes, but they beat Harry back to the dorms. Finally, Remus popped his head through the portrait hole and sent them all to bed.

OoOoOoOoOo

With the quidditch season well and truly over, thoughts turned further towards exams for most of them, but there was still one more event at the school, the Course Fair. While aimed primarily at the first, second and fifth years, the sixth years were also interested in the new NEWT level classes being offered. As long as they met the prerequisites for the course, they would also be allowed to take the new courses. Minerva had worked with the new instructors for an accelerated course for those who could only take one year of it and still wanted to try for the NEWT. Also, there would be at least one section of Latin for those above second year if they wished to take it.

The gathering of students in the Great Hall quickly quieted down when Minerva stepped up to the podium.

"Good afternoon, students. Today we are going to go over the new curriculum for everyone. Once we are done here, the professors for the new courses will be available for further discussion in the classrooms on the north side of the Entrance Hall. Let me introduce you to our new professors. Professor Black will be teaching both Wizarding Culture and Latin. Professor Weasley will be teaching Warding." She was interrupted by a standing ovation from the other members of the red-headed clan. "We will have guest instructors from St. Mungo's for the Healing classes, however Madam Pomfrey will be overseeing much of the practical instruction for the class. Professor Grubbly-Plank will become the primary instructor for Magical Creatures with assistance from Hagrid. While not a new class, there will be a Dueling Club next year sponsored by Professor Lupin and Professor Flitwick. We will give you more information on the Club next year." There was a loud applause for that announcement. "We will go through the standard curriculum for each year so that everyone is aware of the new requirements and what will be expected of you beginning next term. Professor Burbage will give you an overview of a typical first year's coursework."

Charity took the lectern, "Thank you, Professor McGonagall. While much of what you are familiar with as first year students will remain the same, there will be additions. Each student is required to take Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy and Applied Magics, what we currently call DADA. They will also be required to take Latin and either Magical Culture or Non-Magical Culture. Incoming first years will arrive at the castle two days prior to the start of term where they will be provided an orientation as well as all testing. We will also bring their parents for an orientation too. We will still sort at the Welcoming Feast.

"Astronomy will no longer be held late at night," she had to pause for the standing ovation she received at that announcement, "Thanks to the information found in the Founders' Library, we have been able to charm a spare classroom to reflect the night sky, similar to the ceiling here in the Great Hall. For those of you raised in the non-magical world, you may be familiar with planetariums. We are adopting that concept at Hogwarts. Latin and the Culture classes will only be one class period per week instead of the normal two you have for your other classes. Are there any questions?"

There were quite a number of questions, especially about how Muggle parents would be able to see the castle as well as the testing requirements to test out of the classes. Quite a few of the Muggle born/raised students asked about how their parents could come see the castle too. Professor Burbage said that the Headmistress would address that at the end. There were some mutterings about not having new first years to "indoctrinate" on the train scattered throughout. Overall, the changes had been well received.

Professor Sinistra went over the second-year curriculum which had very few changes other than the new courses previously introduced for the first years. While it had been announced, she reminded the current first-years that testing for the Latin and Culture classes would be held on June 4th. Professor Flitwick covered the third year and the new coursework available to take the place of the Latin and Culture classes. Second years would have a counseling session with their Head of House in May to go over the new courses and make their selection prior to departing for the summer. Each Head of House had scheduled their counseling sessions for the upcoming week.

Professor Snape outlined the fourth-year curriculum, which wasn't very different from that currently experienced. Professor Lupin went through the fifth-year curriculum as well as OWL preparation. He discussed the career counseling that would be held in fourth and fifth year to prepare them for the selection of the courses they wished to study at NEWT level, understanding that OWL scores predicated their admittance into NEWT level. He also reminded them that you did not have to necessarily take a specific course to sit the OWL for that course citing the Culture and Latin classes as his example. Professor Sprout discussed the sixth-year courses and the availability of the new courses. She admonished the students to be aware of the prerequisites for these classes as well as any others they wished to study. She also revealed that the new NEWT standard for Potions was an Exceeds Expectation on the OWL. That brought both a goodly amount of applause as it did questions; was Professor Snape softening in his old age? Finally, Professor Babbling went over the seventh-year coursework and NEWT testing.

With that done, Professor McGonagall returned to the lectern for some final announcements.

"There are several policy changes we would like to announce at this time. The first one concerns Hogsmeade visits. Hogsmeade visits will now occur monthly. Additionally, we will allow all students, not just third year and above, to participate." Again, a thunderous applause went through the Great Hall. The first-years were applauding because they got to go a year early and the rest were applauding because it was now a monthly event and not just once per term

"Let me remind you that Hogsmeade visits are a privilege and can be revoked in instances of poor behavior. First and second years will be going on different weekends from the upper-class students. Prefects will escort them in the village and there will be faculty supervisors available during all visits. Also, visits may be cancelled due to safety and security reasons and this is not subject to appeal." While groans were heard throughout, the students understood the reasons.

"Gringotts Bank will be testing out a temporary branch location for your use during these visits. There will be a ten-galleon limit on the amount of money that can be withdrawn at any single visit. Non-magical born or raised students will be able to exchange currency for galleons as well. The goblins will be contacting each affected vault-holder to let them know the procedures for vault withdrawals for those students without a vault key of their own. As this is a service they are providing for you, I expect you to give them the respect they deserve. The Board of Governors will evaluate the success or failure of this venture with the Goblins as we go along.

"There will no longer be a restriction on first-years bringing brooms to Hogwarts. Flying lessons will still be held for all first years, however the initial class will be held during their orientation. While also no longer prohibited, allowing first-years on House Quidditch teams will be monitored closely to ensure it does not interfere with their acclimation to the school.

"In an effort to expand the sports offerings, the Muggle game of football will be introduced. Supplies have been donated and there is sufficient room near the Quidditch pitch for two fields. Madam Hooch will be attending an officiating course this summer to provide oversight to this new endeavor." Dean Thomas and several others gave war whoops and standing ovations to that announcement. He could be heard shouting "West Ham Rocks!"

"Yes, well, we will see, Mr. Thomas," she said with a chuckle. "If there is interest in other types of sports, please speak with your Head of House and we will see what we may be able to accommodate. In answer to the question on allowing Muggle parents of current students to visit the castle, we are planning a Parents' Day to be held in the spring. We will send further information out to all parents once the details are worked out." At the moment, they were exploring having the non-magical parents meet escorts at Kings Cross Station and then portkey them to the gates of the castle.

"Now, let me excuse the professors participating in the Course Fair to their classrooms. I will take any additional questions while they prepare."

While they were waiting, the elves provided a quick snack of pumpkin juice and biscuits. This delayed the mass exodus from the Great Hall allowing it to proceed at a much more sedate pace. While the third years weren't affected in the immediate future, Harry and his friends still made the rounds. Their first stop was Professor Black's classroom. She had selected the Magical Culture classroom for the day. She had posters showing the configuration of the Wizengamot, the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, and organization of the Ministry of Magic among the most prominent. While Hermione was fascinated with them, her real purpose for the stop was to sign up for the sole available Latin class for those students who didn't require it. Ron wasn't interested in taking anything additional that he didn't have to. Harry was ambivalent. He could see the need for Latin but the Wizarding Culture class would be unnecessary due to the classes Sirius had planned for him over the summer. Narcissa had another option for her as well as Harry (and Ron if interested).

"Miss Granger, do you really believe you have sufficient time in your schedule to add another course?"

Harry looked at Ron knowing he was thinking the same thing Ron was – Hermione would find the time if she really wanted to.

"I know I can fit this class in since it's on a Sunday and won't conflict with my other classes."

"I'm sure you could, but is it worth sacrificing your already limited free time for something that you may not necessarily need?"

"Then why are they making it a mandatory course?"

"Because it will help you understand the fundamentals of spells. You already have three years of knowledge under your cloak and understand these fundamentals just through your search for knowledge. I believe I can offer you an alternative."

Hermione's demeanor changed from crestfallen to hopeful in a blink of an eye. "What would that be, Professor?"

"It is my understanding that you will also be attending some of the additional training Mr. Potter-Black will be having this summer. Some of what he will be learning will not be applicable to you. I would be willing to give you a basic tutorial this summer if you would like, however, you must promise me one thing."

"Anything, Professor!"

"You must promise me that you will make time for your family. You already spend over nine months each year away from them. They deserve to have you with them during the summer. I know they will be working during the day and we can meet during those hours, but the evenings and weekends belong to them. I'm sure that Lord Black will be planning some joint activities. If you can do this, then I will tutor you in Latin."

Hermione was shocked by the offer. Harry thought it was a brilliant solution. Ron still thought she was crazy wanting to spend more time in classes.

Hermione hesitated, then responded, "I think I can do that, Professor Black."

"Good, as I will withdraw my offer if you appear to be spending more time studying than a teenager should. Mr. Potter-Black and Mr. Weasley, this offer is available to you as well. Please let me know before we break for the summer."

Harry was thinking about doing it, so he told Narcissa he would let her know. Ron just shook his head at his two friends, then politely (for Ron) declined the offer.

The next stop was the Warding classroom so Ron could talk to Bill. He had quite a few students interested in his course, so they just stood back and listened for a few minutes. When that group moved on, they took the opportunity to talk to him.

Bill ruffled Ron's hair, then welcomed him to his new classroom. He would only be there a couple of times each week – Gringotts was still his primary job – but it would be nice to spend more time with his younger brothers. The agreement with Gringotts for his services was to provide him food and lodging in the castle. This would keep him from having to find a place to live as well as give him a ready excuse when his mother tried to get him to move back to the Burrow. Ron thought that would be even worse than having a brother as Head Boy, but he was also looking forward to having Bill around more. After a few minutes of conversation, they moved on as more students (who could actually take his class) came in.


	74. The Merry Month of May, Part II

74\. The Merry Month of May, Part II

Tuesday was the full moon and the last chance to test the modifications to the Wolfsbane potion before the decision to publicize it would be made. Remus was able to adjust better to the additional drowsiness the new version had as he was expecting it. After a bit of discussion (and a 'DUH! Why hadn't we thought of this before!), Filius place a charm on the door to the training room in Potter Hall so that it would serve as a one-way mirror. Severus would be able to take notes on the effects of the revised potion and Poppy could monitor her patient's health status as well. They would not need to be there the whole time, but could watch the actual transformation safely and then see when he returned to his normal self. Anyone coming into Potter Hall would have to use scent masking charms so they would not alert the wolf that there was "prey" nearby.

Dobby was a happy elf to have more people to take care of, even if they were going to be in and out over the evening. While Remus wasn't that comfortable being on display as it were, it would give further credence to the revised potion. At seven, Remus and Sirius entered the training room and locked the door from the inside. On the outside both Minerva and Severus, in addition to Dobby, added their wards as well. Those on the outside cast their scent masking charms and set a reminder to renew them each hour. Moonrise was shortly past nine, so there was plenty of time for everyone to get situated.

Minerva had never seen a werewolf transform and never thought she ever would. Severus had seen a glimpse in their sixth year when Black tried to lure him into the Shrieking Shack and almost caused him mortal harm. Still, he was also a bit excited about witnessing it from a relatively safe place. Poppy had only seen the results of a post-transformed werewolf when Remus had presented himself to the Hospital Wing after the full moon when he was a student and now, a professor. Beside the wards preventing anyone entry, there were also silencing charms on the room, so those on the inside couldn't hear what those on the outside were saying and vice versa.

As the moon fully rose, Remus began his transformation. Sirius had already transformed into Padfoot and was watching his friend intently. Usually, Remus was an angry werewolf upon his initial transformation, then settled down afterwards, but this was a more peaceful transformation. Once it was complete, Padfoot looked at Moony with an inquiring look which was returned with what could only be described as a smiling wolf. Padfoot went to Moony and gently sniffed, recognizing the scent of his friend. With a quick nip to his hindquarter, the game of 'tag' began. Moony quickly tired and settled himself for a nap.

"So, that's what a werewolf transformation looks like," said Minerva.

"I do not believe it is usually quite so 'tame', if you'll pardon the pun," replied Severus.

"Based on the numerous injuries he's had over the years, I suspect what we are seeing is the result of the modified potion," interjected Poppy.

Remus had given Dobby a camera for him to take photographs during the night to go along with Severus' article. The camera had a date and time function so it would show the progression from wizard to werewolf and back. Padfoot awoke several times over the night to check on his friend, but all was well. After the first hour, the three Hogwarts staff returned to the castle.

Severus and Poppy returned at four in the morning to watch as Remus transformed back shortly after sunrise. Remus slept through the change, slowly stretching and working out the kinks; just as he did most every morning. Seeing the inhabitants of the room moving around, Severus removed his wards from the room. Dobby removed the remainder and opened the room. While Poppy was checking Remus over for injuries, the little elf set out tea in the sitting room and notified his masters and guests. Once Severus asked the few questions he had, he and Poppy floo'd back to the castle. Remus sent word back to Minerva that he would return later in the day.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Wizengamot meeting on Thursday began with the election of the new Chief Warlock. Daniel Greengrass was the first to give his speech on why he should be elected. He spoke of the need to continue to bring all facets of the wizarding world together. As a member of the neutral faction, he spoke of the need for justice tempered with compassion. He was hopeful that bringing the magical races together would be fruitful for them all. Wendell Abbott, on the other hand, was a traditionalist. While not a pureblood fanatic, he thought that wizards and witches were superior in every way and that there was no need for changes in the laws regarding other magical beings. When it came time to vote, Lord Greengrass won a two-thirds majority. Tiberius Ogden administered the oath of office, then relinquished the Chief Warlock's seat and returned to the one designated for House Ogden.

Ludo Bagman updated everyone on the status of the World Cup. Building was going along nicely. The Muggle government declared the area a military training zone. Those who lived within that area were offered temporary relocation for the duration. The offer had been too tempting for those residents to refuse. The military set up random checkpoints to keep gawkers away. Those stationed there were either wizards or witches who had chosen to return to the non-magical world, squibs, or family members of magicals so that the Statute of Secrecy could be maintained as much as possible. After he had completed his presentation, he suggested that the Wizengamot might want to schedule a visit to the site at the end of June in case there were things that might need to be done, but had gotten lost in the shuffle.

Lord Ogden reminded them that the semi-annual meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards would be held in June in Geneva. He suggested that the new Chief Warlock be designated as England's representative. After a short discussion, that motion was made. The two wizards would meet later to go over the details of what had been covered in the last meeting and what was scheduled for this meeting. The Scribe was directed to send a message to the ICW with the information on their new representative.

Persephone Satterwhite was selected at the previous Wizengamot meeting to chair the committee on law revisions as they pertained to the DMLE. She presented the report from her committee. While not a rubber-stamp on the changes Amelia had wanted, they had been highly supportive. The potentially controversial of the changes was the use of Veritaserum on all suspected wrong-doers. At various times, there had been restrictions of its use on Purebloods. The committee recommended wholeheartedly that blood status should have no bearing on possible guilt or innocence and that all suspects should be treated equally using the most expeditious means possible to determine their fate. Another recommendation was that all suspects would be tried no later than the second scheduled Wizengamot meeting. The committee recommended that that was a maximum amount of time and that earlier trials were to be encouraged. Their final recommendation had been to remove the dementors from Azkaban and staff it with less dangerous creatures such as goblins or more wizards and witches. As this would involve the ICW, Lord Greengrass took that as an item for discussion at the June meeting.

Sirius gave an interim report. He and members of his committee had a meeting scheduled with Ragnok the next week to determine what issues the Goblins might have that needed to be addressed. Once school was over, Minerva, Hagrid, Amelia, Dirk Cresswell (and Lord Greengrass if he desired) and Sirius were going to meet with the centaurs to try to establish better relations with them. They were looking for a representative for the House Elves, but had not found one that would leave their families for this. The committee suggested that a "Board' made up of the Head Elves of Hogwarts, St. Mungo's and the Ministry be used as consultants. Sirius had brought some of the changes Hermione (primarily proper treatment and limited punishment) had suggested and they were being addressed. Werewolves would be addressed at the next committee meeting before the announcements of the Wolfsbane Fund and the improved Wolfsbane Potion were made the first of July.

One last item before they adjourned for the day was from Amos Diggory. The Heads of all of the countries' Department of International Magical Cooperation would be meeting before and after the Quidditch World Cup. The meeting before would be to bring them all together in one place for the first time in over four hundred years. So far, all Heads had agreed to attend. The meeting after the World Cup would be to discuss the pros and cons of what had happened so that other countries hosting it in the future would have a base to build from rather than trying to tackle it from scratch every four years. This idea received positive responses from the members.

OoOoOoOoOo

The Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday was relatively uneventful. Minerva and Charity gave them a report on both the Career and Course Fairs. There had been a lot of excited talk throughout the school on both on these events. Minerva gave them an update on the status of the finances, which brought a smile to the members' faces. They'd never had so much openness from Dumbledore, nor such positive results. She was really pleased to give them the feedback on the new and revised policies. They had a bit of a discussion about the proposed Family Day and its organization.

Sirius then took a few minutes to explain the Muggleborn Scholarship Fund established by the Potters as well as the additional money provided by Harry. He also made it plain that these scholarships were controlled by an impartial board. Each year, they lost two or three Muggleborn students due to their inability to pay the tuition.

There was further discussion concerning the faculty for the upcoming year. Minerva had posted several ads for a permanent Transfiguration teacher and had several good applicants. Emmaline Vance had handled the OWL and below students very ably but was not interested in teaching on a permanent basis. Minerva and Charity met with Director Derwent and several of his key healers and identified three healers who would teach the Healing class and would work with Poppy on the practical side. There would be regularly scheduled field trips to St. Mungo's for the participating students to get more extensive hands-on training. She talked about the planned Dueling Club for the next year with the hopes it would expand into a full NEWT course for the upper levels. All in all, it was a productive and pleasant meeting.

OoOoOoOoOo

While the adults were involved with all of the meetings and other events of a normal month in Wizarding Britain, the students were preparing for their end-of-term examinations, be they regular tests, OWL or NEWT. The first two weeks would be end-of-term testing for the first through fourth and sixth years. OWL testing for the fifth years would be during the first week and NEWT testing the next. The Runes study group met early Sunday afternoon for one last time then called it a year. When Harry and Hermione went to the library afterwards, they saw something they never thought they'd ever see – the Weasley twins… In the Library… Studying! Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then had to walk back out before Madam Pince threw them out for laughing too loud.

"Where's Colin when you need him, Hermione?" asked Harry

"We could probably get him from the tower and be back before they know it," she replied.

"Knowing my luck, we'd come back and they'd be gone. We'll just have to keep that image in our minds. I guess they took Sirius' offer, well, seriously."

They walked back in and went to their regular table. A short while later, Ron walked in. He also had a look of amazement on his face.

"Did you see …?"

"Yup!" said Harry, "We wanted to go back and get Colin and his camera, but figured they'd be gone by the time we got back."

"Well, I'm going back. If nothing else, I'll bring Alicia and Angelina. They'll never live it down. It's got to be their best prank ever!" said Ron, then he turned and left.

When Ron returned, he had a whole gaggle of Gryffindors with him. Not only was Colin, Angelina and Alicia with him, but so was Oliver Wood, Percy and Ginny. It appeared, however, that the prank was on them! When Oliver went over to them to rag on them, it turned out it wasn't them at all but a couple of first years that had been charmed to look like them. The real Fred and George were standing behind a shelf of books nearby.

"Pay up, Fred!"

"No, you, George!"

"I bet you Ron would be the first one to say something, Gred, and it was Oliver."

"No, Forge, Harry and Hermione were the first ones to say something, but not directly to us."

"Point, oh brother of mine," they both laughed and walked over to the two firsties and reversed the charms, paid them each their galleon and they made a hasty retreat to the safety of the Gryffindor Common Room.

OoOoOoOoOo

Their schedules for testing was grueling. They were spread out over two weeks with one theory final and a practical final slot available in the morning and another in the afternoon. The practical would not necessarily be the class they'd had for theory just prior. With so many exams taking place, members of the Board were going to serve as proctors for the written examinations so the primary professors could spend time concentrating on the practical exams. This was something new they were testing out to relieve the professors of some of the burden posed by so many exams at one time. The Wizarding Examination Authority was in charge of all aspects of OWL and NEWT exams so that provided some relief.

Harry looked at his exam schedule and let out a sigh of relief. He had five exams the first week and four the second week with one of those four being History. His scheduled looked like this:

Mon 5/30

AM theory: Charms

AM practical: Charms

PM practical: Herbology

PM theory: Herbology

Tue 5/31

AM theory: free

AM practical: free

PM theory: Potions

PM practical: Potions

Wed 6/1

AM theory: Ancient Runes

PM practical: Ancient Runes

PM theory: Astronomy

PM practical (11 pm): Astronomy (the new Astronomy room was not yet complete)

Thu 6/2

Free

Fri 6/3

Free

Mon 6/6

AM practical: DADA

AM theory: DADA

PM theory: Care of Magical Creatures

PM practical: CoMC

Tue 6/7

Free

Wed 6/8

AM theory: History of Magic

AM practical: free

PM theory: free

PM practical: free

Thu 6/9

AM theory: free

AM practical: free

PM theory: Transfiguration

PM practical: Transfiguration

Fri 6/10

Free

Where Harry had free spots, in some cases Hermione and Ron had exams. Hermione had Arithmancy in the morning of Fri 6/3 and Ron had Divination in the afternoon of 6/10. There were also two classes, DADA and Herbology, where they had the practical exam before the theory so the professors could work in their other classes. Harry was quite happy to get done with Potions early and have it over with.

Sunday evening found the trio in the Room of Requirement. It was impossible to find a place to study where people weren't constantly shushing each other or having minor panic attacks, especially among the OWL and NEWT students. Harry had been the one to request the room configuration and had asked for a comfortable place to study for exams. What resulted was something similar to the Gryffindor common room, but much smaller and cozier. There were also several shelves of books for the common classes taught at Hogwarts.

They found themselves comfortable places and pulled out their Charms notes first. It didn't take very long for Ron's stomach to growl.

"Wonder if the Room provides snacks?"

Hermione quickly answered, "No. Remember one of the exceptions to Gamp's Law is that you can't transfigure food."

Harry smiled, then said, "Dobby!"

The little elf was there immediately, "Harry be calling Dobby! What can Dobby do for Harry, his Grangy and his Weezy?"

"Do you think you could get us a couple of butterbeers and maybe some snacks?"

"Of course, Harry, sir!"

He was out in a flash and quickly back with a tray of butterbeer, some brownies, ginger snaps and shortbread biscuits as well as some crisps and pretzels. He knew Hermione stayed away from the sweets.

Brilliant!" said Ron, "Thanks, Dobby. This should make studying easier."

"Just be calling Dobby if you need anything else. Oh, and Harry, sir. Master Doggie said youse to be studying and not horsing around." With that message passed along, Dobby popped back out.

The trio laughed and went back to their studying. With Charms as their first class, they were speculating on charms they would need, especially for the practical. They were all sure that Cheering Charms would be tested and possibly the Severing Charm. They spent some time practicing the spells they'd learned that year, then turned their attention to Herbology. Hermione was certain they'd be tested on harvesting puffapods. A half hour before curfew, they returned to the common room for a decent night's sleep. Hermione was taking Tonks' advice to heart that a good night's sleep was worth more than trying to cram at the last minute.

Monday night, in preparation for Potions the next day, they brought Neville with them as well as their own personal Potions tutor – Lily Potter. Harry resized the portrait of his parents and had a quick chat before James went off to visit elsewhere in the castle. She went over the Confusing Concoction, one that Harry had problems with originally. She also went over the Shrinking Solution. Finally, she went over some of the unique ingredients they'd used that year and their preparation. Her calm voice and patient explanations helped settle Neville down.

With the completion of the Astronomy practical Wednesday night, Harry was over half-way done with his exams and was starting to breathe a sigh of relief. He and Ron were free both Thursday and Friday, leaving Hermione to study for her Arithmancy exam on Friday. They took the opportunity both days to spend a few hours flying. For Harry, it was the best way to clear his mind and settle his nerves after a hectic week.

On Saturday, the first years had their testing for their Magical and Non-Magical Culture classes. There were a few students who had requested the Latin test as well. A couple of the half-blood students also took both Culture tests in hopes of avoiding those classes completely. They would learn their results when they received their booklists later in the summer.

Monday's DADA practical exam was another unusual one. Remus set up something of an obstacle course for them. They started out wading across a small pond with a grindylow in it then through a series of pot holes full of Red Caps, a marsh with a hinkypunk then finally crawling into an old trunk to battle a boggart. Once done, Harry stayed to see how his friends did. Ron did well until he got to the hinkypunk which confused him and he ended up in waist-deep water. Hermione got tripped up by the boggart, coming out of the trunk in near hysterics. She hadn't battled the boggart in their first lesson, so she had no idea what her worst fear could be. It turned out to be Professor McGonagall telling her she'd failed all of her exams and would have to leave the school. Once she'd been calmed down sufficiently, they went back to the castle. (** Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 16)

That afternoon, after their Care of Magical Creatures written examination in one of the classrooms on the first floor, they went outside where Hagrid had several animals for them to show their knowledge with. A big grin came across Harry's face when he saw Buckbeak in the corral along with several of his friends. Harry stepped over to Draco for a minute to remind him that being respectful to the proud animal would win him high marks. Draco was a bit skittish of the animal, but was successful in patting it between the eyes, a place Harry told him was Buckbeak's favorite. Harry had to put his foot down with Hagrid that there'd be no flying today – not enough time. There was also a fire full of salamanders for them to handle.

With only History of Magic and Transfiguration left, Harry and his dorm mates were feeling much better. Professor Newell told them he would only test them on material he had taught them and nothing that Binns had during first term. That had made their task a bit easier, but the professor had gone over a LOT of material in the five months he'd been there.

With their last final with Professor Vance, their third year would be over. She'd had them turn a teapot into a tortoise. They'd been tested on inanimate to animate transfiguration on their written test and expected it as part of their practical, but that hadn't been exactly what they'd been hoping for. Ron's had a bit of a problem as it was breathing steam when he was done. As they went back to the common room, he was grumbling about still having Divination to take while Harry and Hermione were done.

As testing wound down, there was the potential for mayhem while the seventh years were finishing their NEWTs. There were daily pick-up games of quidditch for those so inclined. Dean and some of the others talked Madam Hooch into bringing out some of the new football equipment so there could be the opportunity for people to play as well as show others just what the game was about. Many of the magical born/raised students thought there was way too much effort required, but with the number of muggle born/raised and those raised in both worlds, they were able to get quite a few games in. Narcissa put together some short seminars on wizarding culture such as the organization of the Wizengamot, the organization of the Ministry and wizarding etiquette. Despite all of the opportunities to keep them entertained, some of the students decided to get a start on their summer homework and get it out of the way so they wouldn't have to worry about it over the summer.

Wednesday evening Harry found himself at the gargoyles leading to the Headmistress' office. His parents had asked him to take their picture there for a visit before he left for the summer holiday. Professor McGonagall smiled at him when he entered and showed him where he could place them. She would send him a _Patronus_ message when they were through. She had spoken to James several times while Lily had been with Severus, but this was only her second chance to see both of the elder Potters together.

"Hello, Minerva."

"Hello Lily, James. To what do I owe this honor?"

"We just wanted to know your thoughts on Harry and how he is doing."

"You have an amazing son. One you should be very proud of. He has made so much progress; you wouldn't recognize him as the young man who entered this castle three years ago. Sirius and Remus have done a remarkable job with him in such a short amount of time. Before, about the only thing that gave him any visible joy was flying. Now I see him with a smile on his face most all the time. And your thoughts?"

James spoke up, "I agree. The boy we first met in August has grown into a confident young man. While he doesn't have my penchant for pranking, I think he's found his place finally."

"We have the Weasley twins. That is quite enough pranking for one school and I'd thank you to not encourage it!"

Lily laughed, "With Sirius' and Remus' influence, I don't expect him to remain a saint, however I think Sirius is concentrating on helping the twins prepare to set up their own shop when they finish school."

"I've noticed they have been more studious this year as well."

"Sirius is mentoring them and providing them advice about that. He's made it conditional on their OWL and NEWT scores. He explained to them why they needed to do well, not just to please Molly, and I think they took it to heart. Did you hear about their experience in Italy?"

"I just knew that they had gone to the Potter property there as part of the group."

James spent a few minutes telling her about the offers they'd had for their joke products and she was suitably impressed. If Sirius could get those two to spend some of their efforts on their studies, he'd achieved something all the howlers from Molly hadn't done in five years.

They talked more about Harry, the changes to the school and plans for the future. Lily reminded her to take some time for herself. After a bit over an hour, Minerva sent her _Patronus_ to Harry and he retrieved the portrait of his parents. After he'd left, it struck Minerva that Albus had remained silent throughout the entire time. When she took a glance at his portrait, she noticed a tear making its way down his cheek.


	75. The Leaving Feast

**A/N: All good things must come to an end. More notes at the end. Let me thank the illustrious J.K. Rowling for the Potterverse and allowing us all to recreate it in our minds in various ways. She owns all rights to it. I'm just playing in her sandbox.**

75\. The Leaving Feast

Minerva looked out over the Great Hall, decorated in Gryffindor red and gold, and pondered the changes that had taken place over the past year. Many of those changes were attributable to Harry Potter-Black and his father, Sirius. Changes had also begun in the wizarding world and most were for the better. While the loss of Albus Dumbledore was great, in some respects it had been overdue. Only after his absence had it been realized that he was one of the major stumbling blocks to that change.

She then turned to the staff table and thought of the changes that had occurred so far and those that would be happening at the end of this school year, if the letter she had received that morning was any indication. Charity Burbage was becoming a formidable deputy. Her demeanor was far different from Minerva's but she had rapidly gained the confidence of both the students and the Board of Governors. The changes to the curriculum she was spearheading were desperately needed and long overdue. She had a bright future ahead of her in leading the school to become what it had once been.

Further down to her right sat Remus Lupin. With him returning next year, the apparent curse on the DADA position had finally been lifted. The consensus among the students was that he was the best DADA professor they had had. While his course was being revamped, Remus had been eagerly involved in its evolution. He was also becoming an admirable Head of House. He was personable and approachable, something that could, truthfully, not be said for herself. While there had been trepidation about having a werewolf at the school, the safety precautions that had been put in place had quelled those concerns. The improvements in the Wolfsbane potion had also helped tremendously.

Next to Remus sat Filius Flitwick. He had been at the school almost as long as she had. He had taken the changes in stride and had been eagerly involved in them. Ravenclaw had always been a house she hadn't had to worry much about. He and Remus were planning to start a real dueling club the next year; nothing fake as that idiot Lockhart had tried the previous year.

Further down the table sat Rolanda Hooch and Aurora Sinistra. Both were formidable witches in their own right. Rolanda had taken the gift of the new brooms to heart and was rebuilding the flying curriculum. She was also working towards establishing an obstacle course. She was looking forward to expanding the sports program for both organized and intramural sports. Aurora was heavily involved in the creation of the new Astronomy classroom. She and Filius had been working on the charming of it. They had tested this out in the Room of Requirement and found it more than met the requirements. There would be times during the year they would actually go up to the astronomy tower so that the students didn't grow complacent.

To her left was Pomona Sprout. She was as reliable as her Hufflepuffs. Over the summer she would be adding another, smaller, greenhouse to her collection. She would be using this for research primarily, but it could also be used by those students, such as Neville Longbottom, who were gifted in Herbology and wanted to do research of their own. She would be adding the new plants she'd gathered at Potter Manor in this space as well.

Then there was Severus Snape. A more dour man, she'd never met although he had mellowed a slight bit this year. She attributed that to the portrait of Lily Potter. James had visited her several times over the year and had passed along what little he had heard of their conversations. Severus had never been the type to be a teacher, but had been kept there as part of both Dumbledore's and Voldemort's many schemes. His work on the Wolfsbane potion had rekindled his love of research.

Finishing out the remainder of the Staff Table were Bathsheda Babbling, Hagrid and, surprisingly, Sybill Trelawney. Bathsheda would have more students next year, thanks to both the Career and Course Fairs they'd held. With more student knowing what the course entailed as well as what they could do with them, there was an increase in enrollment. With the addition of Warding as a subject at NEWT level, it boosted her course as well. While Sybill would have students for at least two more years, there would be no more incoming classes unless the talent was detected. While Luna Lovegood was suspected to have seer traits, the young Ravenclaw had shown no interest in taking the class when Filius had asked her. Sybill would be allowed to remain in the castle if she desired. She had few skills that were usable outside of Hogwarts. Even Saul Croaker could find no place for her in the Department of Mysteries. Hagrid was, well, Hagrid. While a bit disappointed in losing his full-time professorship, he was still Keeper of the Keys and Grounds and would still be the Groundskeeper. In addition, he would be picking up both Transfiguration and Charms classes to assist him in learning those key courses that had been denied him when he had been expelled. The Ministry had also asked him to help them with their relations with both the Centaurs and the Acromantula.

Minerva rose and took her place at the lectern. It was now time to say goodbye to this school term.

"Good evening students. We have again reached the end of another school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

OoOoOoOoOo

Percy Weasley reflected on the past ten months and was surprised at the changes he had undergone. At the end of his sixth year, he'd been sure he would be working somewhere at the Ministry upon graduation. His application had already been submitted and he'd had some interest. The Ministry was a totally different place under Amelia Bones' leadership and he felt it would have been a rewarding experience. That was before the discovery of the Founders' Library. With that discovery, more options had opened up to him and he was happy with his change in plans.

Professor Newell was responsible for his change in fortune. While quite knowledgeable in magical history, his abilities in archival restoration were what had fascinated Percy most. Having access to documents as old as Hogwarts itself was something he couldn't pass up. Perhaps it would lead to him succeeding either the Professor or Madam Pince at the conclusion of his apprenticeship; perhaps it would lead elsewhere. At least he knew he had more options than just the Ministry.

OoOoOoOoOo

Remus Lupin was also a bit pensive at the moment. He didn't know when he had accepted Albus' offer to teach that it would lead to the numerous changes in his life. He had the last remaining of his schoolboy chums back in his life as well as the son of another; something he'd never thought he'd have a year ago. He had the opportunity to help rebuild the curriculum of Hogwarts to what it had been even before he was a student. The new courses were just the beginning. Their planned travels over the summer would give him the opportunity to visit at least one other magical school to get more information on their curriculum.

Also on his list of tasks for the holiday was to spend more time with the Potter portfolio and make recommendations for any changes. Even with Sirius' adoption of Harry, he had asked his friend to continue in the role James and Lily had set for him in managing the Potter estate until Harry was old enough to do so himself. Some of that training would begin this summer.

He would continue to work with Severus to validate the changes to the Wolfsbane potion. The last transformation had been almost a non-issue compared to just six months ago. Dirk Cresswell was still trying to wrest him away from Hogwarts to head the Werewolf Liaison Office, and he kept refusing. He would consult with the committee appointed to review the laws regarding magical beings to revamp the werewolf laws to improve their lives too.

OoOoOoOoOo

Severus Snape was attending his final Leaving Feast. He had tendered his resignation that morning. His future plans were still somewhat of a shock to himself. He had planned to open up his own potions shop as well as continue his research. While the Wolfsbane potion was one of the primary items in Lily Potter's journal, she had left quite a few others in various stages of completion which she wanted him to pursue.

The offer he received at the end of May surprised him. Sirius Black made him an offer that would allow him to pursue his dreams while still maintaining a steady income. Severus would be the Head Potions Master for the experimental Wolfsbane Fund while still allowing him to pursue his own experiments. Black was currently outfitting one of the empty Potter properties into a proper potions laboratory with a small retail counter in front. Severus would need help if the Fund grew to the extent projected. For the summer, he would be taking on the Weasley twins as assistants. While they focused their attentions on pranks, they were really exceptional Potions and Charms students. There would be a room portioned off for them to manufacture their products to meet their current demands. During the ten days needed to produce the Wolfsbane, they would assist him as he needed.

The summer break would give him time to establish himself and determine what he would really need to make his business successful. He felt he would need at least a part-time Herbologist to manage the two greenhouses at Potter Manor that held the aconite and Devil's Claw among others. Black had agreed to fund that position and was working with Pomona Sprout to identify a qualified candidate. For the moment, Neville Longbottom would assist under her guidance. "Gods! I'm surrounding myself with Gryffindors!" he thought.

While he still had his old family house in Spinner's End, he had decided to move on. There were quarters available above his shop that were comfortable, but he felt he deserved something better. He was even more surprised when he'd contacted the goblins about his accounts to find out he was the heir to the Prince family. Another thing Dumbledore had meddled in. Once he'd settled his new account manager down, assuring him that he had not ignored his messages all those years, he'd found he had a very suitable country home in Northamptonshire. One of his first acts after leaving Hogwarts would be to contact a muggle real estate salesperson to sell Spinner's End. He had three elves at the Prince estate who had already packed everything up and moved it to his new home, with the exception of his potions laboratory. Once he had done that and removed all of the wards, it would look like any other muggle home in the neighborhood. For the first time in his life, Severus Snape actually had a life worth looking forward to.

OoOoOoOoOo

At the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins were also contemplating their new fortunes. While working for the former "greasy bat of the dungeons" would have made any other Hogwarts student cringe, they were looking forward to it. For all of his demeaning words and actions, Professor Snape was a genius when it came to potions. No one had ever questioned why they got so many detentions with him, so no one knew that Snape had been providing supervision for some of their more interesting brews. While they'd never actually brewed any of their pranking items in the dungeons, he'd been more than helpful in explaining why certain ingredients wouldn't work together or would cause certain reactions. They would miss some of the excursions Harry had invited them on – they were allowed one week in July to spend on a true vacation. Plus, there was the Quidditch World Cup to attend just before school started in the fall. They would be done with the August Wolfsbane production so they would be allowed to attend with the rest of their family. On top of that, Sirius Black had offered to share some of the pranking knowledge of the original Marauders.

OoOoOoOoOo

Harry was happy with his new life. He didn't have to worry about going back to Privet Drive as he had the past two years. He now had a father as well as an assembled family of the Weasleys, the Grangers, Remus Lupin, the Tonks and even Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. It was a strange family, for sure, but it was HIS family. They all loved him for being just 'Harry' and not The-Boy-Who-Lived or the Freak or any other name. He was just Harry.

The summer ahead would be busy! The first two weeks home were going to be crowded with lessons. The mornings would be spent at Longbottom Manor learning wizarding culture, etiquette and other social graces required of a Head of House. The afternoons would be spent with Sirius and Remus learning about managing his estate as well as some about the Black estate. He would also take the advanced Latin course with Hermione in the afternoons. Evenings were for his own enjoyment, but he knew Sirius would plan some evenings out to the cinema or other entertainment. Mrs. Weasley made Sirius promise that they would have Sunday lunch at the Burrow each week.

Sirius had blocked out the first two weeks of July for travel. They would be spending a week in a place called "Disney World" and the rest of the time in other places in America. They were still working on exactly where. Remus and Sirius were going to spend two days at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so Harry would have to decide whether to go with them or go along with the Grangers to New York. Ron was going with them as was Neville, the twins, Ginny and Tonks (Dora). The twins would only go as far as Florida before they would portkey back to England. The only other thing still to be decided was whether they would go by muggle transportation or portkey.

Remus would also tutor him in advanced DADA with Sirius substituting when necessary. While there would be a lot of studying over the summer, Harry was looking forward to it. He would finally be learning more about the world he had been born into but denied for so long. He was also going to help Neville in the greenhouses. Tizzy was going to teach them about some of the plants in the first three greenhouses so they could help him harvest some of those that were to become potions ingredients. Professor Sprout would come once a month to harvest the aconite and Devil's Claw for the wolfsbane until someone was hired for that job.

On top of all of that, he had the Quidditch World Cup to look forward to right before he came back for his fourth year! There was still a lot of planning to be done for that trip, but he'd get to see some first rate quidditch. Sirius had promised to take him to a couple of professional games too. It would be a full summer!

OoOoOoOoOo

In London, Sirius Black was preparing for his son's return from Hogwarts. He'd had Harry's room cleaned up as well as notified Cassie at Potter Manor that they would be over for the day next Saturday. While he had quite a bit of academic and practical things lined up for Harry, he was also making sure there would be time for fun, especially time to fly! Weekends would be for fun. He knew there would always be a pick-up quidditch game at the Weasleys on Sunday, but he wanted to spend time with Harry doing other things besides talking about estate management and Wizengamot procedures. He had already received invitations for summer garden parties from several members of the Wizengamot, some of which he'd declined as they'd be out of the country, but he would need to talk to Harry about some of the others. He would meet up with the Grangers at King's Cross Station tomorrow so he could take them through the barrier to meet the Hogwarts Express. It had been a year of change for Sirius as well.

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The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade Station promptly at eleven o'clock on June eleventh filled with students happy to be finished with another year of school. The atmosphere was joyful with students flitting between carriages. Harry's compartment hosted Hermione, Ron and Neville with Dean, Seamus, Susan Bones, Hanna Abbott, Oliver Wood and several others passing through at some point. Harry let Ron talk him in to playing a couple of games of chess with him before relinquishing his position to Draco. That match lasted nearly two hours as the two tried to out-maneuver each other. In the end, Ron finally won.

Harry let out a contented sigh. This had been an amazing year. He had friends; he had family; he had a life that he was enjoying. So, this is what it meant to be "normal."

 **FINITE INCANTATUM**

A/N: I can't thank you all enough for the reviews and PMs I've received throughout this journey! When I first had this idea about 18 months ago, I never dreamed it would turn into this. I've learned a lot along the way. I've met some really great people through your reviews, waiting eagerly for reviews from those who were regular readers. Will there be more? I don't know. I know there won't be a continuation of this story into fourth year. I have an idea flitting around for a short spin-off, but I don't know if it will get written. For now, I'm going to sit back and be happy reading others' works. It's been an experience!


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